


Make This Place Your Home

by controlofwhatido, luckie_dee



Category: Glee
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-25
Updated: 2016-03-25
Packaged: 2018-05-27 04:50:25
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 23,091
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6270268
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/controlofwhatido/pseuds/controlofwhatido, https://archiveofourown.org/users/luckie_dee/pseuds/luckie_dee
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Loosely based on the TV show, The Property Brothers. The Anderson brothers host a local TV show that helps clients buy fixer-uppers and turn them into dream homes. Blaine can’t help but take a special interest in working with their next client, Kurt Hummel. Unfortunately for Blaine, it seems like Kurt is pretty obviously into Cooper.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Warnings: Brief mentions of past Kurt/Elliot & unrequited Kurt/Cooper, teeny-tiny mention of blood (finger injury), oral, rimming, barebacking, and blink-and-you’ll-miss-it comeplay. Also, fluff. Lots of fluff.
> 
> Author’s Notes: You do not need to have seen Property Brothers to read this fic. Title is from “Home” by Phillip Phillips. We had so much fun writing together, hope everyone enjoys!
> 
> Take a look at the stunning art by [magicalplaylist](http://magicalplaylist.tumblr.com) [here](http://magicalplaylist.tumblr.com/post/141673961505)!

Blaine’s at his desk, engrossed in a bathroom design blog, when Cooper startles him by tossing a file on Blaine’s keyboard. “What -- ?” Blaine asks, blinking up at Cooper. 

“New client, Squirt,” Cooper says, leaning against Blaine’s desk with his hip. “You’ll like him -- he’s cute.” 

Blaine sighs and flips open the folder. “Cooper, how many times do I have to ask you to _stop_ trying to set me up with guys? Especially ones that are our clients?” He turns the page, trying to not react when he sees the headshot. This guy -- _Kurt Hummel_ \-- is more than cute, he’s gorgeous. 

Cooper mock-gasps and puts his hand over his heart. “I wouldn’t dare do such a thing! Now, Kurt is newly single -- “ 

“I’m going to stop you right there,” Blaine interrupts. He sets the file down and collects himself before he glares up at Cooper. “I can read the information just fine, thank you. All I need to know about him is what he’s looking for in a house.” 

“Well, let me tell you all about that, little brother,” Cooper continues smoothly. “If you take a look at his wishlist, you’ll see that his ideal home would have a _romantic_ fireplace, a spa-style bathroom with a tub big enough for two men, and a spacious master suite with enough room for a king-sized love nest --” 

Blaine flips the folder back open and rifles through the pages. “It does _not_ say that.”

Cooper shrugs. “I may be embellishing.”

With a sigh, Blaine stills his hands. “And you’re just assuming he’s even into guys. Your gaydar leaves something to be desired, you know.” 

“Pretty sure I’ve got this one right.”

“Oh yeah?” Blaine challenges him. “Why?”

Cooper points to a page in the file. “Well, he needs space for sewing and baking --”

“That is so stereotypical, Coop.”

“-- _and_ his ex’s name is Elliott, who Kurt specifically refers to as his ex- _boyfriend_.”

Oh. Blaine straightens the papers, then shuts the folder again and pushes it to the edge of his desk. “Be that as it may, the show doesn’t just exist to get me laid.”

“Well,” Cooper says, “that’s not the _only_ reason. It’s also getting me one step closer to superstardom.” 

“I suppose Ohio’s version of the _Property Brothers_ is one step closer to stardom than free-credit-rating-today-dot-com-slash-savings,” Blaine grumbles.

Cooper cuffs Blaine’s shoulder heartily. “That’s right! Aren’t you going to look at Kurt’s file?”

Blaine glances over at it. He really wants to, but he also wants to wait until Cooper’s not breathing down his neck while he does so. “I’ll get to it. I’m in the middle of something.”

“You’re reading a blog about toilets,” Cooper points out.

“Like I said,” Blaine says dismissively, staring at the screen. Cooper must finally get the message, because he heaves an over-dramatic sigh and leaves the room a moment later.

Blaine stares at the folder for a few minutes before he grabs it and opens again. He wouldn’t put it past Cooper to bust through the door thirty seconds later, just to catch him in the act -- like Blaine’s looking at _porn_ or something. 

He takes his time reading over the application. It’s out of the norm -- usually they get couples who are looking for as much luxury as they can afford in Ohio, because they’re stuck here. They rarely get applications from people who are single. But Kurt Hummel is. 

Blaine frowns when he reads Kurt’s story. He’d been living in New York City for a few years, but decided to move back home for a number of reasons, including wanting to be around for his Dad who isn’t in perfect health. It looks like the application was originally for two -- Kurt Hummel _and_ Elliott Gilbert, but there are a few changes here and there, leaving just Kurt as their client. 

Cooper obviously knows more, since he put the file together, but Blaine doesn’t want to add more fuel to the fire by asking about it. A small part of Blaine is excited to meet Kurt -- it isn’t every day (or very often at all) that he meets a gorgeous, single guy who is actually gay, but he sticks by his mantra -- their show is _not_ for him to meet guys. Blaine’s just there to remodel their homes into something they love. 

*

Blaine dresses with care the day they’re scheduled to shoot with Kurt for the first time, and makes sure that his hair is in meticulous order. He tells himself it’s no different from any other episode -- he just likes to look put-together on camera, always has. If he just so happens to pick a shirt that compliments his eyes and jeans that show off his ass, well… it’s probably a coincidence.

Cooper shoots him a look as they climb into the van to drive to the first house -- the dream one that’s out of Kurt’s budget. “What?” Blaine asks irritably.

“Nice outfit, squirt.”

Blaine glances down at himself. “What’s wrong with it?” 

“Nothing,” Cooper says. “You look good.” 

“I did _not_ dress up because we’re meeting Kurt today,” Blaine retaliates, “if that’s what you’re implying.”

Cooper laughs as he puts the key in the ignition. “I’m not implying anything. You said it, not me.” 

Blaine feels himself flush and tries to cover it with a sip of coffee from his travel mug. “Only because you’re being all --” He waves one hand at Cooper.

“Polite?” he suggests. 

“Weird. You never just... compliment my outfit,” Blaine argues. 

“What? I can’t tell my little brother he looks nice?”

“Whatever,” Blaine says as Cooper backs out of the driveway. “Why don’t we focus on the show?”

Cooper navigates out of Blaine’s neighborhood and onto one of the main streets. “Sure, if you say so,” he says, shooting Blaine a dubious look. “Ready to wow Kurt with this house that is _way_ out of his price range?” 

Blaine huffs and looks out the window. Due to the early hour, there isn’t much traffic, but it’s springtime and the trees are starting to bloom, which makes for a pretty view. “I still don’t see why we have to copy _that_ part of the show. It just seems cruel to me to get their hopes up and then just crush them.” 

“Au _contraire_ , mon… shit, how do you say ‘little brother’ in French? I should learn to speak French! Can’t you just picture me playing a hot, French businessman? Bonjour! Croissant!” Cooper exclaims, banging his hand against the steering wheel. 

“I’m pretty sure you pronounced both of those wrong,” Blaine says.

Cooper jabs a finger into his shoulder. “That’s why I have to learn! International spy drama, here I come.”

Blaine just rolls his eyes and tries to make sure they don’t miss their exit. It wouldn’t be the first time that Cooper got so distracted that he got them completely lost, and he refuses to use a GPS since the time he’d tried to record his own voice and decided it sounded too tinny. “One show at a time, Coop.” 

“You’ll never make it in show business with an attitude like that, Squirt,” Cooper says cheerfully, and Blaine just shrugs. It’s too early in the morning to get into another argument with Cooper about how to best advance one’s performing career. They lapse into silence -- or near silence, as Cooper starts muttering under his breath. Blaine catches a few French phrases and snippets of whatever Cooper has cooked up to say to Kurt when they start filming. 

Kurt. Blaine swallows against a suddenly-dry throat and takes another swig of coffee.

Miraculously, Cooper does take the right exit, and it’s only a few minutes later that they’re pulling up in front of a beautiful two-story home with a well-kept yard and several mature trees. Blaine takes a cursory glance at it, but his attention is drawn away by the fact that there are already two cars in the driveway. Their cameraman, Mike, is already there, and standing beside him -- is Kurt. 

Cooper parks on the street and bounds enthusiastically out of the van, while Blaine takes his time, because it gives him a few seconds to scope out their new client. On a purely professional basis, of course.

And professionally, he’s… really good looking. Blaine would go so far as to say _hot_. Professionally. 

He slams the van door and starts up the driveway, making a new observation with each step is Kurt comes into better and better view. He’s taller than Blaine, about as tall as Mike, although the last inch or two of that might be his hair -- which is fantastic. He’s stylishly dressed, in a way that accentuates his frame -- which is slim and subtly strong. And when Blaine finally draws to a halt beside Cooper, he gets his first good, up-close look at Kurt’s face, and the picture in his file doesn’t do him justice at all.

“Wow,” he mutters under his breath, and everyone’s heads swivel towards him. Blaine catches himself and sputters, “oh, uh -- the house! It’s beautiful.”

Kurt glances over his shoulder at it and grins. “Yeah,” he says, “too bad I’m not going to be able to afford it, right?” 

Blaine raises his eyebrows, and Cooper exclaims, “Hey! You’re not supposed to know about that yet.” He shoots a suspicious glance at Mike. 

“Are you actually accusing me or is this an acting exercise?” Mike asks, unphased. 

Kurt gives an awkward (adorable, Blaine thinks) little wave of his hands and interrupts before Cooper can answer. “Oh, he didn’t say anything. I’ve, uh -- I’ve seen your show once or twice. I know the formula.” He looks pinker than he had a moment ago. 

Cooper recovers quickly. “Of course you have!” he all but shouts, strident as ever. “Cooper Anderson, pleasure to meet you.” He shakes Kurt’s hand and then gestures to Blaine. “And this is my brother, Blaine.” 

“Nice to meet you,” Blaine says, taking Kurt’s hand as his stomach goes fluttery.

“Likewise,” Kurt replies politely. After a perfunctory handshake, he turns back to Cooper, beams, and asks, “So, what’s next?” 

And Blaine feels kind of like he got punched in the stomach, because oh. _Oh._. Of _course_ Kurt’s interested in Cooper. The list of ways in which being Cooper Anderson’s brother has screwed Blaine over is seemingly never-ending. Well, Blaine had been telling the truth about not wanting to get involved with a client, and this will just make it easier. 

“What’s next,” Cooper says in response to Kurt’s question, “is that we show you this beautiful abode, and you have to act surprised when I tell you how much it costs, okay?” He grins at Kurt and lays a hand on Kurt’s shoulder.

Kurt flushes even deeper. “Whatever you say!” 

_Not jealous_ , Blaine reminds himself, _because it doesn’t matter_. He really hopes that Cooper hasn’t noticed how _obvious_ Kurt is being, because as soon as Cooper realizes someone is even remotely attracted to him he gets even more obnoxious by dramatically pumping up the charm. 

“I’m almost finished setting up,” Mike says, leading everyone back down the driveway to where he’s marked their entry point. “We’ll do a quick shot of Cooper and Blaine leading you up to the front door, everyone will _ooh_ and _ahh_ over how gorgeous it is, then we’ll move inside.” 

“When do I…” Kurt trails off, glancing toward the house and then back at Cooper. “When do we film the, y’know… the interview? About the budget, what I’m actually looking for…” 

“Oh, we do all of that at the end. It’s so much easier to do it all at once, and then edit it back into the right places,” Cooper says, waving Kurt off as he moves into position. “Make sure you get me from my good side, Mike,” he says, rubbing his fingers along his jawline. “Can’t have this sunlight make me look washed out.” 

“You always look great on camera,” Kurt says, nodding at Cooper with a big smile on his face. 

Blaine has to look away to save himself from rolling his eyes. He’s almost tempted to let Kurt know that Cooper is (mostly) straight, but the last thing he wants to do is piss off a client. “Ready to go, Mike?” he asks instead because he’d much rather get the ball rolling than stand here while Kurt fawns over Cooper. 

“Ready!” Mike confirms. 

They move into position, and of course, because Cooper has chosen to stand where the light is best, Blaine is the one squinting into the morning sunshine, which is going to look just great on screen. Mike films them walking toward the house, Cooper rambling off a few details about the yard and the facade -- his enthusiasm and ability to memorize lines suit him well in reality real estate -- and Kurt making excited exclamations about it all. 

It’s all captured in one take, which isn’t always the case, and Cooper is suitably impressed. “Hey, you’re good at this!” he compliments Kurt.

Kurt looks modestly down at his very fashionable boots and says, “Well, I did used to dream about becoming an actor.” 

“You,” Cooper declares, all seriousness, “would make an awesome actor… but can I make one suggestion?” 

“Of course,” Kurt says eagerly, looking back up like Cooper is going to impart some grand words of wisdom.

Which are, as Blaine might have predicted: “You need to point more. Try it when we go through the house. _Point_ at the things that you like. It’ll really drive the emotion home.” 

It’s _terrible_ advice, and Blaine exchanges a quick look with Mike before he interjects, “Why don’t we go inside?” 

Blaine tries to hang back while Cooper shows the house to Kurt. He speaks up when he’s supposed to, calling attention to certain design features (without actually _pointing_ , even though Cooper gestures at him and rolls his eyes), but mostly he focuses on taking mental notes of what Kurt really likes about the house. And certainly _not_ focusing on how great Kurt’s ass looks in the pants he’s wearing. 

The house is -- of course -- _way_ out of Kurt’s price range, but now Blaine has an even better idea of how he can spruce up the fixer-uppers they look at into something that Kurt will love and be able to afford. He pays careful attention to what makes Kurt clap his hands together in (adorable) excitement, and what makes his (lovely) eyes widen in awe. 

The bedroom. Blaine can tell that’s what it’s going to come down to. He’s always had a knack for reading their clients, but he doesn’t even need to use it. When they walk into the master suite, Kurt’s jaw actually drops and his face lights up as he takes in the high ceilings, the walk-in closets, the spa-like _en suite_. “This is _amazing_ ,” he breathes.

Kurt acts suitably surprised and distressed at the price of the house. Cooper praises his acting, Kurt receives it with blushing gratitude, and Blaine can’t wait to escape. 

Over the next few days, they move onto the more… affordable houses. It isn’t unusual for their clients to be less than thrilled with the options in their price ranges, and Kurt is no different. He’s not acting when he turns up his nose at the tiny kitchen with the vintage harvest gold appliances in one house, or the peachy-orange carpet, paint, and tile in another. It’s all fixable, of course, but they always coach their clients to give their honest reactions. Kurt shares his honestly, with biting wit.

He’s intrigued by Blaine’s design suggestions. When they enter the master bedroom of the Peach Palace and Blaine sees Kurt’s frown, he’s quick to point out the potential. “I know it doesn’t look like the master suite you want now, but the bedroom on the other side of this wall is too small to be useful, so we’ll take down the wall, push this back and put in a huge closet, reconfigure the bathroom -- which is actually a decent size -- maybe add some French doors out to the patio?” He’s getting excited with the possibilities, striding around the room and gesturing wildly, and he draws to a stop when he sees Kurt grinning at him. “What do you think?”

“That sounds like it would improve things -- especially if it involves ripping out every single coral tile in that bathroom -- but I’m just not sure this is my dream home,” Kurt says. 

“Leave that to me,” Blaine replies confidently, and he and Kurt exchange another smile. The moment is quickly interrupted by Cooper, but Blaine’s pretty sure it was there.

In the end, it does come down to a choice between the Kitschy Kitchen and the Peach Palace, and Kurt makes his decision based on Blaine’s plans for creating a master suite in the latter. He really does want a _sanctuary_ , somewhere he can relax at the end of the day. The fireplace in the living room doesn’t hurt either.

Blaine immediately gets to work on his designs, even though it’ll be a few days before they know if Kurt’s offer is accepted. It’s the cheaper of the two houses, but requires more work. Not only will he be working on the master bedroom and bathroom, but there’s some work to be done in the living room, and they’ll be gutting the whole kitchen to make it more modern and bring it up to Kurt’s standards. 

There’s a counter offer on the house, of course. Kurt had tried to bid low to have more money available for the remodel, but Blaine hears from Cooper that Kurt’s father agreed to pitch in a little extra so the house is officially Kurt’s after a bit of back-and-forth. That’s a sigh of relief on everyone’s part, including Blaine’s, because as it is, all the work that needs to be done will be pushing Kurt’s budget to the limit. 

Blaine isn’t usually present when they film Cooper telling the client their good news, but he and Cooper have plans immediately after, so he tags along and stays quiet behind Mike while Cooper meets Kurt at the local coffee shop. They want it to look _authentic_ , but they still have to ask the patrons that will be in the shot if they mind before they start setting up. The ones who don’t want to be on camera either leave or move to the other side of the shop, and the ones who don’t mind are coached to act natural and not pay attention to the camera. 

When Kurt arrives, Blaine’s heart flutters in his chest. Kurt looks _gorgeous_ in his tight, dark wash skinny jeans and his (obviously) designer button-up. But when Kurt barely spares Blaine a glance before going right over to Cooper, looking at him expectantly, Blaine sighs and looks down at himself. He’s just wearing simple jeans and a polo -- nothing compared to Cooper’s (knock-off) suit and tie, but he still thought he looked _nice_ when he left the house. Not enough to catch Kurt’s eye, apparently. Oh well. 

“Now, we want your reaction to be genuine,” Cooper explains, guiding Kurt to sit down at one of the small tables near a window. “So I’m going to walk in, join you at this table, and we’ll go from there.” 

Kurt’s mouth twists into a frown before glancing between Cooper and Mike. “You can’t tell me before we start filming? So I can… I don’t know, prepare my reaction?” 

Cooper scoffs while he checks his hair in the window. “Then it wouldn’t be _genuine_! Now, it’ll be immensely helpful if you up your pointing when you hear the news, I haven’t seen nearly enough pointing in front of the camera yet.” 

Before Blaine can interject and try to explain Cooper’s reasoning a little better to Kurt, Mike clears his throat and points at his watch. The management at this place -- the _Lima Bean_ \-- has only allowed them so much time to film, and Cooper doesn’t seem to understand that. 

“Cooper, go stand by the entrance,” Mike says while he maneuvers into position himself. “I’ll grab a couple seconds of Kurt drinking his coffee before you come in.” 

Blaine tries to stay out of the way, not wanting to distract either Kurt or Cooper on camera, so he sneaks behind Mike and over to the counter. His usual order -- a medium drip -- doesn’t sound appealing since it’s warm outside and he’s already a little sweaty. He’s about to ask the barista what she recommends when he hears an excited yelp from Kurt. 

By the time Blaine turns around, Kurt is up out of his chair, beaming as he throws his arms around Cooper in an ecstatic hug. Blaine watches as Cooper returns the hug before he has to turn away, his chest aching with longing. _He’s obviously not into you_ , Blaine chides himself while he looks back up at the menu. _And he’s a_ client _, you don’t get involved with clients. No matter how good looking they are_. 

Cooper eventually releases Kurt -- after what feels like half an hour to Blaine -- and Kurt lets go a split second later, blushing and beaming. Which is, in Blaine’s estimation, at least partially due to finding out that he’s the proud owner of a coral-colored house. Right. He turns back to the barista and, feeling rebellious, places an order for an iced coffee and peanut butter biscotti.

When his drink is ready, Blaine turns to see that Kurt is still chatting with Cooper, who of course is basking in the attention. As much as he wants to talk to Kurt again, Blaine finds himself dragging his feet as he makes his way across the coffee shop.

“Hey, Kurt,” he calls as he approaches. “That sounded like good news.” 

Kurt grins and bounces on his toes. “The Peach Palace is mine!” he exclaims. “Thanks to your brother.” 

Cooper nods smugly. “I drive a hard bargain. A very hard bargain.” 

Not for the first time, Blaine wonders if Cooper says those kinds of things on purpose or if he really is that clueless. He glosses over the comment after a brief, awkward pause. “Well, congratulations,” he says, drawing Kurt’s attention back. “I’m excited to get started. You picked a great property.” 

Kurt laughs, a delighted little sound. “I picked a _hideous_ property.” 

“And that’s why I’m here!” Blaine replies gallantly. “We’re going to make that hideous place into your dream home.”

“Damn right we are,” Cooper tosses in. “Or, well -- Blainey is. Aren’t you, Blainey?” he adds, stepping in beside Blaine and ruffling up his hair.

Blaine ducks away, grumbling and swatting at Cooper’s hand. “ _Stop_ it. Don’t you and Mike need to get some establishing shots of you talking on the phone?”

“We do,” Cooper agrees, taking one last swipe at Blaine’s hair. “The light out there is perfect for my skin tone, and we don’t want to miss it. Mike!” he shouts and finally, finally leaves them alone.

Kurt just looks amused. “So, you really think you can make it that great?”

“Definitely,” Blaine says. He tries to surreptitiously smooth down his hair. “In fact, I think _we_ can make it that great. You’re going to help out, right?”

“Definitely,” Kurt echoes. “When do we start?”

“On Demo Day,” Blaine says. Satisfied as he’s going to be with his hair, he puts his hands in his pockets and smiles. “Step one is taking down that wall upstairs.. Are you in?”

“For that?” Kurt asks. “I can’t wait.”


	2. Chapter 2

Even though the designs are planned, Blaine likes to get to the house before anyone else to prepare. As much as Cooper thinks that _every_ moment needs to be caught on camera, Blaine refuses to be caught pacing back and forth while he measures and mumbles to himself. 

He’s pretty much given up on trying to impress Kurt, since Kurt barely looks Blaine’s way when Cooper is around, so he’s dressed in his usual demo day clothes -- well worn jeans, steel toe boots, and a simple t-shirt -- items he doesn’t mind getting filthy. He hopes Kurt understands just how _dirty_ everything gets when they’re tearing down walls and gutting rooms, because everything Blaine has seen Kurt wear so far has definitely been designer. 

Mike’s the first one to show up, ready to get a last few _before_ shots ahead of the demolition. Blaine is up on a ladder, pencil in his mouth while he tries to remove a light fixture, so Mike just gets a grunt and a finger wave in hello. 

The next thing Blaine knows, he hears a distinctly female voice coming up the stairs.

“ _Kurt_ , I’m going to be on camera! Of course this is what I’m wearing. I don’t even own clothes that can get dirty, ew!” 

There’s an audible sigh from Kurt and Blaine heads out into the hallway just in time to see Kurt roll his eyes. “Good morning,” Blaine says, eyes widening when he sees Kurt’s companion.

Kurt is standing next to a woman dressed in at least four inch heels, tight leopard print pants and shirt, and (what Blaine hopes is) a white faux fur coat. Her outfit is about as far away as one can get from being appropriate demolition day clothes. 

“I apologize,” Kurt says, gesturing at the woman. “This is my friend Sugar Motta. I asked her to come help, but she clearly didn’t _listen_ when I explained what was happening.” 

Sugar huffs and looks around. “All I heard is that we were filming a TV show! I’m so sorry I wasn’t here for the house shopping -- I love shopping! Daddy sent me on a cruise for stress relief. I just got back yesterday!” 

Blaine clears his throat and wipes his hands off on his jeans before holding one out toward Sugar. “Hi, I’m Blaine,” he says, laughing when Sugar barely touches his hand to shake it. “Sorry, I’ve already started some things this morning. As you can see, it’s going to get pretty messy around here. Are you sure you don’t want to… go home and change?” 

“I can’t do anything that’ll ruin this manicure; I paid a lot of money for it!” Sugar says, waving her fingers in Blaine’s direction. “Anyway, why should we do all the work when I can just hire someone to do it for us?” 

Blaine glances at Kurt, who looks both amused and exasperated. Kurt looks back and shrugs, a tiny _what can you do_ gesture. “Well,” Blaine says, “because that would basically negate the entire purpose of the show. And the main reason for me to be on it. We’ll have a crew here to help, but I’m going to be doing a lot of the work. And so is Kurt,” he adds, and that’s when he really notices that Kurt is also dressed down, in jeans and a t-shirt, and it’s somehow even hotter than every beautiful, artfully designed outfit Blaine’s seen him in so far.

Sugar interrupts his reverie with a scoff. “Yeah, but Kurt’s used to getting all gross and sweaty. He worked at his dad’s auto shop in high school. Can you _imagine_?”

“Yeah…” Blaine says, his mind suddenly flooded with images of Kurt bent over an engine, smudged with grease. He indulges for a few seconds before he snaps back to reality to find both Kurt and Sugar looking at him strangely. “I mean, yeah. I um, I think there was a note about that in Kurt’s file.” 

Luckily, Mike chooses that moment to interrupt them. “Hey guys, I think I’m all set. Should we get started?” 

Blaine grabs a sledgehammer and hands it over to Kurt, hoping he’s not being obvious as he stares at Kurt’s arm when it flexes under the weight. “Ready to knock down this wall?” 

“Ooh, yes!” Kurt exclaims, bouncing up on his toes. He glances over to Sugar and beams. “I’m getting the huge master suite I’ve always wanted!” He looks in the direction of the stairway with a hopeful gaze. “Will Cooper be joining us today?” 

Before Blaine can scoff and say that no, his brother _never_ is present for demolition day, claiming all the dust and dirt would ruin his _designer_ suits (which are really knock offs, but Blaine’s not allowed to tell anyone), Sugar jumps in and says excitedly, “Ooh, is that the one with the cute butt?” 

Blaine’s first reaction is to be offended -- he knows there’s at least one blog devoted to his own ass, _thank you very much_ \-- but he dials it back quickly. He knows that the show’s limited fanbase is divided into fans of his and fans of his brother, and then some who seem to be equal opportunity. There are people who argue about which of them is better, and then others who seem to want them to be together ( _together_ together) and, to make a long story short, there are a lot of reasons that Blaine stays largely away from it. 

While he’s carefully keeping his face neutral, Kurt is elbowing Sugar and hissing “ _oh my god, shut up_ ” at her. He turns to Blaine with an apologetic smile. “I’m so sorry. If I didn’t know better, sometimes I’d think she was raised in a barn.”

“ _Kurt!_ ” Sugar exclaims, sounding completely scandalized. 

“Relax, we all know you grew up in a 12,000 square foot mansion,” Kurt says, sounding exasperated. “Can you calm down already? You’re being extra… intense. Is it the cameras?” 

Sugar frowns at him. “Do you want my help or not?” 

“Of course I do,” Kurt assures her. “If you’re willing to actually help.”

“It would be wonderful if you can, Sugar,” Blaine interrupts, trying to smooth over the situation, “especially since, no, Cooper isn’t going to be here. He doesn’t usually help out much with the renovation.” He doesn’t miss the way that Kurt’s face falls a little, even though he tries to hide it.

“I… guess,” Sugar says slowly, glancing down at her outfit. “If there’s something that I can do that won’t get me all --” she scrunches her nose and looks over at Blaine “...dirty.” 

Blaine suppresses any signs of annoyance. “I’m sure we can find something for today. But maybe tomorrow, you can wear something a little more -- appropriate for working on a house? No heels over two inches.” It’s a joke, but Sugar nods like she’s taking it to heart. 

Mike clears his throat and Blaine nods his head -- standing around and talking isn’t going to get them anywhere, and they have a lot to do. “Rolling,” Mike says, giving them a thumbs up and settling in behind his camera. 

“Okay,” Blaine says, motioning for Kurt to follow him as he walks over the wall that’s about to be knocked down. “See these pencil marks? That’s where beams are, so don’t hit there, try to hit in between them.” 

A huge grin spreads across Kurt’s face and he heaves the sledgehammer up on his shoulder. “This is going to be _so_ much fun,” he says before swinging and smashing into the drywall. 

A lot of guests on the show are tentative at first, barely making a dent. Kurt, apparently, has no problem giving the wall everything he’s got, and he buries the hammer in the drywall before yanking it back and, without needing to be told, delivering another blow. 

Behind them, Sugar gasps. “Wow, Kurt,” she says, “you look like you need to work out some aggression.” 

“Well,” he replies, pausing the wall demo to look over his shoulder and flash a tight smile at her, “it’s been a rough couple of months.”

Blaine knows the story -- it’s in Kurt’s file, after all -- his dad’s second heart attack, the sudden breakup with his boyfriend, who had unexpectedly decided to leave the country, and Kurt’s return to Ohio. He frowns sympathetically. “I’m sorry, Kurt. You are more than welcome to take it out on this wall.”

Kurt nods, steadies his grip on the sledgehammer, and swings again. 

Blaine doesn’t even need to glance over to Mike to make sure he’s getting all of this -- Mike is an excellent cameraman, and a saint for putting up with all of Cooper’s inane demands. “Great job,” Blaine says, after Kurt puts another hole in the wall. 

“Well,” Kurt says, and Blaine swears he sees Kurt wink at him, “I’m not one to do anything half-assed.” 

Sugar shrieks and tries to bat away some stray drywall dust. “As sexy as my bff’s booty is while he’s doing manly things, I need to skedaddle before this _ruins_ my outfit!” 

It’s a pretty big effort for Blaine not to let his gaze fall to Kurt’s ass with Sugar’s comment, because he knows he’s being filmed and objectifying his client is not professional at _all._ “Sugar, how do you feel about using a screwdriver?” 

She purses her lips and looks down at her nails. “As long as it doesn’t ruin this manicure, I’ll do it, if it helps Kurt out!” 

Blaine grins and leads her over to the cabinets in the bathroom, pulling a screwdriver out of his tool belt. “Here. See all of the handles on these cabinets and drawers? They all need to come off. We’re going to save the wood, but the hardware need to go.” 

“Yes it does!” Kurt says before there’s another _smack_ of the hammer hitting the wall. 

Sugar takes the screwdriver and nods, looking determinedly at the cabinets. “Can do, capitan!” 

Blaine grins and shakes his head before going back over to Kurt, finding him standing there, chest heaving as he looks at all the holes in the wall. “Now comes the fun part.” 

Kurt glances over at Blaine with an arched eyebrow. “ _That_ wasn’t the fun part?” 

“Nope,” Blaine says, rubbing his hands together. “Well, that part is fun, but I always enjoy tearing the drywall out with my hands and getting to see what I’m working with underneath.” 

They work together, pulling out all the scraps of sheetrock and preparing to tear the foundation of the wall completely out until Mike calls for a lunch break and they all head downstairs to the kitchen to eat.

It’s nothing extravagant, but they all dig in eagerly, hungry from the morning’s work -- well, all except for Sugar, but she seems happy enough to be taking a break and doesn’t complain about the selection not including caviar, so Blaine is relieved. He and Mike get into a detailed discussion about the schedule for filming over the rest of the demolition, and he waves Kurt and Sugar off when they get done eating and start to look bored. They disappear back upstairs so Kurt can give Sugar a clearer picture of what Blaine’s plans are for the master bedroom and bathroom.

They can’t waste _too_ much time though, so Blaine heads up a few minutes later while Mike runs out to his car for a spare battery pack for his camera. Blaine follows the sounds of Kurt and Sugar’s voices to the bedroom, but some instinct, or maybe something about the way they’re talking, low and quiet, makes him slow his steps as he gets closer to the door, until he’s hovering just outside. 

At first, he can’t hear everything, except that Kurt sounds indignant, like he’s denying something. Blaine catches a few snippets of what Sugar’s saying: “you were definitely taking a good, long look” and “...his brother?” 

Kurt’s voice raises a little, “Of _course_ I like Cooper. He’s the reason I started watching the show. Remember how I used to have that ridiculous credit website jingle as my ringtone?” 

“Oh, I remember,” Sugar says, equal parts amused and fond. 

“Oh my god, Sugar, I wish you could have seen him,” Kurt continues, sounding dangerously close to gushing. “Just wait until he’s back for the reveal.” 

Blaine rolls his eyes, gathers himself, and walks into the room, only too happy to interrupt the conversation. “Hey guys, ready to get back to work?” he asks, falsely bright. 

Kurt startles and flushes, but he smiles back. “I am, of course. I can’t speak for Sugar.” 

She glances back and forth between them, a curious expression on her face, but just says, “I’m ready, as long as I don’t have to get dirty.”

There aren’t many more things that Blaine can direct Sugar to do, but they are planning on donating the cabinets in the kitchen, so he sends her down there with the screwdriver to start taking the doors and hardware off. 

That leaves Blaine with Kurt in the bedroom, with Mike silently filming behind them. The carpet in the small bedroom (that’ll soon be part of the master suite) is atrocious and needs to come up. Blaine likes to do all the projects that create the most mess during the first day or two of demolition, so he claps his hands together and leads Kurt and Mike through the beams of the open wall and starts explaining how to get started. 

“I’m hoping this all comes out in one piece, but it looks pretty old, and it might come apart. Let’s gently get these corners up and try rolling,” Blaine says, getting down on his knees to pull at one. He grunts and tugs, and luckily it starts to come up easily. “See? Like that,” he says, looking back over his shoulder to where Kurt is standing, eyes wide and lips parted. 

“Huh, what? Oh, yeah,” Kurt says, clearing his throat and quickly walking over to another corner. 

The carpet itself tears out cleanly enough, but the pad is an entirely different story. “Yuck,” Blaine says, scrunching his nose in disgust. “This is going to be a pain,” he mutters, sighing as he tries to lift a piece of the carpet pad and it basically crumbles between his fingers. 

Mike gives Blaine a subtle nod, and Blaine understands that pulling up disintegrating padding and hundreds of staples doesn’t really make for good television. He’ll just stay late and do it himself -- it’s part of his job, and it’s not like there’s anyone waiting up for him at home. Not even a dog. Sometimes Blaine thinks that he might like a dog.

“Okay, you know what?” Blaine asks, dusting off his hands and turning to Kurt. “This is not going to be fun, so I’ll just work on it tonight, after you and the cameras go home. I’m sure you’d rather demo some hideous tile, right?” 

Kurt’s already shaking his head. “We can pull this up. I don’t care if it’s fun or not. It has to get done either way.”

“Seriously,” Blaine says, “Mike does not want to film us pulling up all five thousand of these staples. I’ll just do it later.” 

“Because working on it alone at midnight sounds fantastic,” Kurt retorts.

Blaine chuckles. “That’s literally why I’m here, Kurt. To renovate your new home, whatever that entails.” 

“Well then, I’ll stick around later and help you,” Kurt says stubbornly. 

“Kurt --”

“It’ll go faster if we both work on it,” he points out. 

Blaine lifts his hands in mock surrender and tries to ignore his traitorous thumping heart. It’s not often a client is willing to stick around and do any dirty work that’s not on camera -- most of them have lives to get back to, which is completely understandable. “Okay, you’re right,” Blaine says, motioning toward the bathroom. “Why don’t we tackle that _lovely_ tile while there’s still daylight and then Mike can take off for the day?” 

“Sounds good to me, boss,” Mike says, picking up his equipment to set up near the bathroom. 

It’s not easy to film bathroom renovations, there’s usually barely enough space for Mike to get situated and Blaine to work, but thankfully this master bath is bigger than average, so they’re able to make it work with the three of them. 

Except there’s one problem. 

Blaine had instructed Kurt to start taking the tile out around the bathtub, and while Kurt is doing a great job, he’s also spending a lot of time bent over just inside Blaine’s peripheral vision. It’s really, _really_ difficult for Blaine to stay focused on his own task of removing the tile above the sink instead of being caught on camera, staring at his client’s (amazing) ass. 

To distract himself, Blaine starts talking to the camera about what his plans for this bathroom and master suite are. He doesn’t reveal _everything_ , since Kurt is within earshot, but anything that he’s already discussed with Kurt is fair game to let their audience know. Blaine always likes to keep a few surprises up his sleeve for their clients to really blow them away. 

Once they’re done for the day -- Sugar long gone -- and Mike has started to pack up his camera, Blaine turns to Kurt and can’t help but laugh at the state of Kurt’s filthy clothes. It’s no wonder that Sugar shrieked and ran back downstairs when she came up earlier to see if there was anything she could do to help them. “You look like you could use a change of clothes and a shower,” Blaine says, resisting the urge to brush off some dust on Kurt’s cheek. “You don’t have to stay; I’ll be fine here on my own.” 

“Technically,” Kurt replies, arching an eyebrow, “I’ve been in the shower for the last hour and a half.” He nods back to where he’s been ripping out tile. Blaine feels one side of his mouth tick up, and he steadfastly doesn’t think about Kurt _actually_ showering. Kurt smiles back. “Come on, you think someone who spent every summer at Hummel Tires and Lube cares about a little dirt? Let’s rip up some carpet padding!” 

Blaine lets a full grin steal across his face as he follows Kurt back to the newly expanded part of the master suite. They start working in silence; Blaine casts around for something to say, until Kurt saves him by asking, “So, why don’t you just delegate the thankless jobs like this to your crew?”

Shoving another few shreds of carpet pad into a garbage bag, Blaine sits back on his heels for a moment. “Well,” he explains, “the more work I can do myself, the less money I have to pay them, and the better I can make your renovation.” 

Out of the corner of his eye, he catches Kurt’s smile. “Well, I can’t argue with logic like that.”

“That doesn’t mean that you have to be here though,” Blaine offers again… not that he _wants_ Kurt to leave. “Really, you’ve been so much help today. You don’t have to do this too.”

“And I really don’t mind,” Kurt says firmly. 

Blaine leaves it there, unwilling to make it seem that he’s seriously opposed to having Kurt’s company. Some of the padding doesn’t come up well at all -- there are chunks stuck to the floor here and there, but he’s glad to see that the natural hardwood underneath everything is still in pretty good shape. That’s one less expense that Kurt will have to worry about. 

They continue to work in companionable silence, and Blaine doesn’t even notice he started humming bits and pieces of the opening number to _Rent_ until he hears Kurt softly singing along -- and _oh_. 

“Your voice is -- wow, Kurt,” Blaine says, sitting back on his heels and shaking his head in disbelief. “It’s incredible.” 

Kurt ducks his head, his cheeks instantly pinking up. “Thanks. Usually people tell me I sound _unique_. I’ve heard that a lot over the last few years.”

Blaine knows Kurt moved back home from New York, but Kurt’s file didn’t say much about his life there. It had seemed purposefully vague, with a few mentions of Kurt studying performing arts in college, internships, and odd jobs. “You do sound unique,” Blaine comments. “And amazing. You sang in college, right?” 

“You could say that,” Kurt says, while he picks at a staple. “I went to NYADA.”

“ _NYADA_?” Blaine glances over, eyes wide. “You went to NYADA?” 

Kurt’s voice is amused when he asks, “You’ve _heard_ of NYADA?”

“It was only my dream school,” Blaine retorts. 

Kurt looks mildly surprised, but he nods. “But you didn’t go there?” he inquires gently. 

“No, I uh --” Blaine starts, then ties a garbage bag shut with a little more force than is strictly necessary. “I auditioned. They offered me a spot. But it’s expensive, and my dad refused to help out. I didn’t have any way to pay for it on my own.” 

“I’m sorry,” Kurt says earnestly, and there’s another few moments of silence. It’s not exactly comfortable, and Kurt sounds a bit awkward when he breaks it by saying, “Well, if it makes you feel any better, NYADA didn’t exactly skyrocket me to fame. Unless you consider singing diner waiter and cover band member to be claims to fame.”

Blaine smiles. “You were in a band?”

“Mhmm,” Kurt affirms. “With Elliott, my boyfriend. At the time, I mean. Ex-boyfriend,” he adds, hurried and flustered. 

Blaine knows it’s not his place to ask what happened, why Elliott’s name was originally on the application and now it’s just Kurt. Blaine’s only known Kurt for a couple days and he needs to remind himself that Kurt is his _client_ \-- they aren’t friends, not really. Neither Blaine nor Cooper have kept in touch with any of their previous clients -- just because Kurt is gorgeous, smart, and talented (basically everything Blaine wants in a man) doesn’t mean that it’ll be any different this time. 

“So,” Blaine says, eager to change the subject and clear the awkward air. He grunts as he tries to pull up a particularly stubborn staple. “What was your audition song for NYADA?”

“Oh!” Kurt says, shifting over to the next row of staples. “I ended up going with _Not The Boy Next Door_ , gold lamé pants included.” 

It’s a struggle for Blaine to keep his eyes on his work, and not look as distressed as he suddenly feels. _Kurt_. In tight gold pants. Holy _shit_. That’s an image that’s going to be burned into his mind forever -- he only wishes he could’ve seen the real thing. “I, um,” he says, staring resolutely at the floor, “I bet you nailed it.” 

“Of course I did,” Kurt says confidently, before yelping. “Fuck!” 

By the time Blaine snaps his neck up, the hammer Kurt’s been using has been discarded to the floor and Kurt has his finger in his mouth. “What happened?” Blaine asks frantically as he scrambles over to Kurt. “Let me see.” 

Kurt grimaces and holds his hand out toward Blaine, the tip of his first finger still oozing with blood. “That staple had it out for me.” 

Blaine winces -- he’s had plenty of work related injuries himself, but he always hates it when his clients get hurt. “Stay put, I have a first aid kit downstairs,” he says, standing up so quickly his knees pop. “Back in a jiffy.” 

“My hero,” Kurt says lightly when Blaine returns, first aid kit in hand. 

“I don’t think you’ll need stitches,” Blaine says, gently grabbing Kurt’s hand and looking at the wound up close. “Just let me…” he trails off, grabbing a sterile wipe to clean Kurt’s finger. He glances up at Kurt in sympathy. “This might sting.” 

Kurt shrugs. “I’m a big boy; go for it.” He hisses as Blaine cleans the wound and down his finger. “You’re very thorough. I would’ve just slapped a bandaid on it and called it done.” 

Shaking his head, Blaine reaches for the antibiotic ointment and a bandaid. “Not going to risk you getting an infection and then suing us,” he says, smiling up at Kurt to show that he’s kidding. He quickly wraps the small gash and shuffles away, focusing on putting his first aid kit back together. “Good as new.” 

“What,” Kurt says, pouting when Blaine glances at him. “You aren’t going to kiss it better?” 

Blaine feels himself flush and turns back to the kit, carefully clasping the lid shut with maximum concentration. “I don’t know what you’ve heard about me, Kurt, but I’m not that kind of contractor. I don’t just kiss my clients on demo day one.” He tries to keep his tone light, joking, even though he would take very little convincing to actually do just that. 

Except that as recently as a few days ago, Kurt had been all but drooling over Cooper. When Blaine reminds himself about that, some of the shine comes off the evening he and Kurt just spent together. He looks back up at Kurt with a determinedly friendly smile, which Kurt returns, although he looks a bit -- puzzled. 

“Thank you so much for your help tonight, Kurt,” Blaine says. “I think I can take it from here. I should be able to finish up in another half an hour or so. Cut your losses, save your other fingers.” 

“Are you sure?” Kurt asks doubtfully. “I don’t mind helping out more.”

“You’ve done more than enough,” Blaine assures him. “Believe me. I can’t thank you enough.” 

“You’re welcome,” Kurt replies, sidling toward the door. “I guess I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“Yup, see you then.” Blaine flashes him one last grin, then crouches down to get back to work. He hears Kurt leave a minute later.


	3. Chapter 3

To complete the renovation in the five weeks that Blaine estimated (and promised Kurt), Blaine’s been at the house from sunup to sundown every day to stay on schedule. Kurt’s been a huge help -- contributing more than his clients usually do -- and Sugar, well… she’s been an excellent cheerleader from the sidelines, well out of reach of dirt and sawdust. 

They’ve been so busy, with Mike capturing every possible moment so something can be pieced together to hold the audience’s attention, that Blaine hasn’t been able to talk to Kurt nearly as much as he’d like. They’ve had a few chats over lunch, and exchanged quips and laughs over their work that made the time pass faster… and felt, sometimes, suspiciously like flirting. 

It makes Blaine long even more for nights like the first night of demo, just working alone together without being filmed, without any crew members around, because Kurt is smart and funny and interesting. In addition, of course, to the fact that Blaine still thinks he’s ridiculously hot. The more Blaine tries to deny or ignore how interested he is in Kurt, the harder it gets. Even overhearing Sugar and Kurt talking about Cooper again doesn’t deter him.

It had happened the morning before. He had sent both Kurt and Sugar upstairs to put a coat of primer on one of the bedroom walls, and had gone up after a while to check on them. It felt like deja vu all over again when he heard Sugar giggle and say, “Come on, Kurt -- like I’m supposed to believe you’re not interested now? He’s all you talk about!”

“This _house_ is all I talk about,” Kurt corrected her, sounding exasperated. 

“Exactly,” she sing-songed. “And why do you have this house? Because of the Anderson brothers. I’ve been listening to you talk about _an_ Anderson brother for months now.”

“That’s an exaggeration,” Kurt muttered, and Blaine coughed to make his presence known before he walked into the room. Kurt had obviously done most of the work, and Sugar was sitting on the opposite side of the room without so much of a smudge of paint on her.

“How’s it going in here?” Blaine asked “It looks like you’re almost done.”

Kurt’s face was red, but maybe that was just from exertion. “We’re doing great,” he chirped. “Or well, I am.” He shot Sugar a stern look, which she rebuffed with a too-innocent shrug. 

“Okay,” Blaine said, trying to power cheerfully through the awkwardness. “Well, let me know when you’re done. It should be about time to break for lunch.” 

Kurt agreed and then turned quickly to get back to work. Feeling dismissed, Blaine turned to leave, but he couldn’t help shooting one last glance in Kurt’s direction as he went. 

If Kurt’s still harboring a crush on Cooper, then -- fine. It’s not like anything will actually _happen_ there, and once Blaine finishes up the house, they won’t ever see Kurt again. That’s exactly what Blaine reminds himself when he continues to glance over in Kurt’s direction to check on his progress of removing the backsplash in the kitchen (and not stare at his ass, of course not). 

During their lunch break, Mike reminds Blaine that he has to leave early for an appointment. “Sure, of course -- I totally forgot that was today, sorry. I think I’ll start framing the closet upstairs tonight then, to keep us on schedule,” Blaine says, quickly scanning through his e-mails on his phone and deleting the junk. 

“Ooh, are we talking about the amazing walk-in closet in my master suite?” Kurt asks, scooting closer to Blaine, eyes wide with interest. 

Blaine smiles and nods, ducking his head when he feels his cheeks heat up at how close Kurt suddenly is -- so close Blaine can smell his cologne. “Yep, I want to see if I can get the whole thing framed tonight and get the electric run tomorrow so we can maybe put up the drywall by the end of the week.” 

“I can help!” Kurt offers, brushing the crumbs from his sandwich off his lap. “I mean -- I don’t know much about it, but you are an excellent teacher, so I’m sure I’ll learn quickly.” 

Sugar snorts. “I’m sure you want him to _teach_ you, Kurt,” she says, holding up her hands and using her fingers as quotation marks. “Teach you all about his anatomy, maybe.” 

“Sugar!” Kurt exclaims, everything from his neck up turning bright red. “What -- you -- stop!” 

Blaine immediately pops to his feet and brushes his hands against his thighs, looking anywhere and everywhere besides at Kurt. “Well!” he says, trying to completely ignore Sugar’s comment and how flustered Kurt is. “We can still get a couple more hours in before Mike has to leave, so let’s get back to it.” 

Kurt stands up as well and shoots a death glare at Sugar before turning toward Blaine. “Blaine, I’m so sorry -- she just,” he shrugs before sighing and rubbing his forehead. “She doesn’t know how to keep her mouth _shut_.” 

“It’s fine,” Blaine says, belly squirming with uncertainty. He can’t tell if Kurt’s embarrassed because Sugar is wrong and just trying to rile Kurt up or if she’s _right_. Either way, he can’t let himself get caught up in it because they still have work to do. 

*

Everything starts out fine with the closet framing. Blaine has already measured and cut the 2x4s in preparation, so he has Kurt help him get everything assembled. It’s a great idea in theory, but it ends up meaning a lot of work in close proximity. Very close proximity, with Kurt stretching and reaching and squatting to hold things steady while Blaine fastens them in place. The closet is going to be enormous, but it’s still a closet, and they keep brushing and bumping up against each other in the small space.

Kurt chooses the moment when he’s bracing a beam up at chest height while Blaine wedges in between him and and an existing wall to say, “So, um… about what Sugar said this morning…” His voice trails away and Blaine focuses closely on lining up the nail gun just so. 

For a split second, Blaine considers playing dumb, but he doesn’t want to make Kurt repeat the comment. “Yeah?” he finally asks.

“I’m sorry,” Kurt apologizes. “God, that was -- totally inappropriate, obviously. You’re my _contractor_. I don’t know why -- I mean, I don’t know why she thought it would be a good idea to say that.” 

He sounds incredibly flustered, and when Blaine glances over, he’s going red in the face. “Kurt,” he breaks in, as soothingly as he can, “it’s okay. No big deal.” 

“It _is_ a big deal,” Kurt mutters. “You’re here to shoot a television show and renovate a house, not to be ogled by your client and harassed by his friend --” He cuts himself off suddenly with a gasp, taking a half step back and letting go of the 2x4, which luckily has enough nails in it to stay in place.

Blaine slowly lowers the nail gun. His ears are rushing a little. “I --”

“I’m sorry!” Kurt interrupts. “Just forget I said that. I’ll just go home -- well, go to my dad’s home, and I’ll come back tomorrow, and we’ll forget that this whole day ever happened.” 

“No,” Blaine protests, before he even realizes that he’s going to.

“No?” Kurt asks. He’s still close in the small space, and he looks like he feels trapped.

Blaine shakes his head. “It’s okay,” he repeats. “Really.”

Kurt’s expression changes minutely. “You mean --”

“I mean it’s okay if you… want to --”

“...ogle you?”

They both fall silent, staring at each other, and there’s so little space between them. It barely seems like they have to move at all as they stumble forward through the thick, charged air and their lips crash together.

Blaine sucks in a harsh breath as his heart trips into a gallop. He feels one of Kurt’s hands land on his bicep and he reaches out -- with the hand still holding the nail gun. Shit.

He _mrphs_ against Kurt’s mouth and forces himself to pull back. “Kurt,” he rasps out.

“Oh my god, I am _so sorry_ \--”

“No,” Blaine cuts him off. He nods sheepishly at his hand. “Let me just -- put this down? Otherwise I’m going to land us in the ER.”

“O-of course,” Kurt says roughly, taking a small step back and giving Blaine just enough space to set his nail gun down before crowding back in again. “So, um,” he says, dropping his gaze to Blaine’s mouth. “This is okay?” 

Blaine leans in and whispers against Kurt’s mouth, “it’s more than okay,” before kissing him again, _finally_ allowing himself to rest his hands on Kurt’s waist, holding him close. Kurt feels so _good_ pressed against him, and Blaine can’t help but moan when he feels Kurt’s tongue brush against his lips. 

Kurt’s hands start to wander, down Blaine’s arms and his fingers brush Blaine’s stomach before he slides his palms over Blaine’s hips to his back. “You feel amazing,” Kurt mumbles against Blaine’s mouth, hands gripping the fabric of Blaine’s shirt. 

“You too,” Blaine grunts before taking a step forward and pressing Kurt against the existing opposite wall. “So good,” he says before he claims Kurt’s mouth again and slides his tongue past Kurt’s lips. 

Kurt moans and pushes Blaine’s t-shirt up, his warm hands sliding against the skin of Blaine’s back. He gasps and thumps his head against the wall when Blaine starts kissing down his jaw and toward his neck. “Oh! You are -- um, very skilled with your hands and uh, your mouth, apparently.” 

Blaine grins against Kurt’s throat and kisses up toward the hinge of Kurt’s jaw. He still can barely believe he’s kissing _Kurt_ (who is still his _client_ , but he’s in no frame of mind to worry about that now). “My hands and mouth are talented at _many_ things, I’ve been told,” Blaine says before he gently nibbles on Kurt’s earlobe. He feels his neck flush with what he’s implying -- but he _wants_ , oh how he wants. 

“Is that so?” Kurt asks, high and breathy. He tilts his pelvis toward Blaine, his erection obvious against Blaine’s hip. 

It all feels so fast, but most of the blood from Blaine’s brain has rushed to his dick, so he has no problem with grinding back against Kurt and kissing back up toward Kurt’s mouth. “Yeah,” he says before sealing his lips over Kurt’s again. 

Kurt moans into Blaine’s mouth and starts tugging upwards on the hem of Blaine’s shirt. They part just long enough for Blaine to finish pulling his shirt over his head and he’s back to kissing Kurt before it hits the floor. 

Blaine gets lost in the feeling of the long, drawn out kisses and Kurt’s hands exploring the skin of his bare chest and back. All he wants is to sink to his knees and show Kurt just how talented he really is, to take Kurt into his mouth, into his throat if Kurt wants ( _talented_ ), and Kurt feels so big where he’s pressed against Blaine’s body. Blaine trips his fingers along the waistband of Kurt’s pants and draws back, starting to drop into a crouch. “I could demonstrate…?”

Kurt’s chest heaves as he stares down at Blaine, his hands going tight on Blaine’s shoulders. “Oh god, yes,” he groans as Blaine pops the button of his jeans. “Do you, uh -- do you have a condom?”

_Shit_. Blaine still his hands on Kurt’s zipper, feeling a desperate ache take root in his stomach. “No, I… didn’t exactly plan on anything like this. Do you?”

With a frustrated sigh, Kurt drops his head back against the wall. “No. Neither did I.” 

“And we would -- need one?” Blaine asks, even though he knows better.

Kurt shrugs helplessly. “We shouldn’t, but I haven’t been tested since...” His voice trails away.

“Okay,” Blaine says. He opens Kurt’s fly anyway, and his cock is _right there_ , tantalizingly close, and Blaine can’t help nuzzling into it through the fabric of Kurt’s boxer briefs. “Okay. Well, there are definitely other options.” 

Kurt tugs Blaine back to his feet and grabs his jaw, thumbing over his lower lip. “Shit,” he mutters, “I just wanted you so bad.”

“I’m still here,” Blaine replies, and he lets Kurt pull him in. They kiss, hot and open, again and again, work Kurt’s pants down and Blaine’s pants undone, and Kurt’s hands slip past the waistband to grab Blaine’s ass and grind their bodies together. Blaine gasps Kurt’s name harshly, and then suggests, “Maybe we should move this to…” He pauses and frowns. 

“What?” Kurt asks.

“I was going to say _to the bedroom_ , but there’s nothing there,” Blaine says, shaking his head a little, embarrassed. He’s overheated and distracted and he’d actually forgotten. “No bed.”

Kurt lets out a breathy laugh. “No bed,” he confirms. “Probably not a single safe horizontal surface in this whole house.”

Blaine thinks it over and… Kurt is right. Anywhere they could manage to get on top of each other would run the risk of nails or splinters or falls. “No,” he agrees sadly.

“I guess we’ll just have to stay here,” Kurt says. He sounds mischievous, and he chooses that moment to slide his hand into Blaine’s underwear and cup his cock.

“Oh!” Blaine gasps, thrusting up into Kurt’s hand. He leans in and rests his sweaty forehead against Kurt’s neck. It has been… quite a while since another man has touched him like this, and as Kurt tightens his grip and starts to pump his hand, Blaine feels the heat in his belly coil tightly. He fumbles to shove Kurt’s boxer briefs down and grasps Kurt’s dick, wishing he could see it better but not wanting to peel back enough to get a good look. 

When Kurt thrusts forward, the head of his cock brushes against Blaine’s and they both moan. “Fuck,” Kurt says as he quickens the pace of his hand. 

Blaine grunts against Kurt’s throat and presses a damp kiss there. He swipes his thumb through the precome on the tip of Kurt’s dick and tries to focus on Kurt’s pleasure, but that’s becoming difficult when Kurt’s hand feels so _good_. 

The air is hot and almost suffocating in their tiny space, but Blaine hardly notices. All he cares about are the little noises Kurt keeps making when Blaine pumps his hand, and how his own balls are drawing up, and how if he tightens his grip just under the crown of Kurt’s cock, Kurt moans so loud Blaine can feel the vibrations against his lips. 

They move faster, each beginning to border on frantic, their hips churning and their thumbs bumping past each other. Blaine, drawing rasping breaths against Kurt’s skin, feels Kurt try and turn toward him. “Are you close?” he pants. “Blaine, I’m so close.”

Instead of answering, Blaine firms his grip on Kurt’s erection, twisting determinedly up under the head with each stroke. Kurt swears, his hand on Blaine’s dick jerking unevenly now, with spasmodic clutches at random intervals. Then, his body goes stiff, and after a single, suspended moment, he comes in thick spurts, accompanied by a strangled cry. The mess of it drips over both their cocks and hands.

Blaine groans at the knowledge that Kurt’s come is streaking over his erection, and as Kurt slumps against the wall, Blaine transfers his hand to his own dick. He intends to finish himself off while Kurt recovers, but he feels Kurt’s fingers tighten again and they set up a rhythm together, stripping over Blaine’s eager cock.

“Oh shit,” Blaine grunts, breathing heavily and thrusting with little coordination into their hands. “Shit,” he grits out again, and he squeezes his eyes shut as the pleasure twists, deep in his belly. He comes with a breathless gasp of Kurt’s name, long, thick ropes of come splatter their hands and Blaine’s pretty sure some even hits the floor.

“Oh my god,” Kurt says, hand still holding Blaine’s dick. “That was… wow. Wow.” 

Blaine’s legs feel like jelly and he’s not quite sure how both of them are still standing, but he nods against Kurt’s neck, humming his agreement. “Yeah. _Wow_.”

“Now I _really_ wish my bed was here so we could go cuddle,” Kurt says, hissing as he pulls his hand away from Blaine’s cock, the combined residue of their release is _everywhere_. “And I also wish the shower was functional because we are a _mess_.” 

Blaine’s not too concerned with that -- not when Kurt just mentioned cuddling. He manages to pull himself away from Kurt and stand up before he reaches into his pocket for a handkerchief. “Here,” he says, offering it to Kurt first. “I think there’s some wet wipes from lunch downstairs, too.” 

Kurt smiles and takes the cloth, quickly mopping up his dick first before shoving himself back into his underwear and pulling his pants up. “So, that happened.” 

Blaine returns the smile and tugs his own pants up before leaning in and pressing a sweet kiss to Kurt’s mouth. “It did,” he says, grimacing as he tries to wipe his hand off on his jeans when he realizes there’s really no other way to clean up.

“I was not expecting that when I offered to stay and help tonight,” Kurt says with an awkward laugh as he finishes cleaning his hand. “Um, I should probably just -- go,” he says, gingerly holding the handkerchief out towards Blaine. 

Blaine takes the cloth and shoves it in his back pocket -- everything he’s wearing is going straight into the washing machine when he gets home -- and stops Kurt by taking his hand. “No, don’t go just yet. I mean, unless… this was a mistake?” He rubs his thumb over Kurt’s knuckles and looks at him with questioning eyes. 

Kurt hesitates for a moment before stepping closer to Blaine. “No. No… it wasn’t a mistake. Not for me, at least.”

“I don’t, um,” Blaine says, pausing to take a deep breath. “I don’t get involved with my clients. I don’t want you to think that. You are just… I haven’t been able to take my eyes off you since the first day we met.” 

Kurt’s eyes light up and he squeezes Blaine’s hand. “So, is this…? I mean, can I take you out on a date sometime?”

Blaine ducks his head and grins, his heart fluttering in his chest. “I’d love that. But my first priority is finishing your house. I want you to live in something you love.” 

“I already love it, and we still have a ways to go,” Kurt says, reaching up and brushing his fingers along Blaine’s jaw line. “I don’t want to hurt your show at all, so we probably shouldn’t say anything to anyone until filming is over. Especially Sugar, because it’s _obvious_ she can’t keep a secret.” 

Nodding in agreement, Blaine turns his head and kisses Kurt’s palm. “That would be for the best, yes. This isn’t exactly a dating show. Though her big mouth did lead us here.” 

“That’s true,” Kurt says with a shrug before glancing behind Blaine. “We, uh… didn’t exactly finish the framing tonight.” 

Blaine turns around and surveys what is actually left of the closet wall. If they leave now, it won’t put them behind schedule, and both of them desperately need showers. Especially Blaine, because he can feel the come drying all over his cock and balls. “No problem, I can finish it up in the morning pretty quickly, probably even before Mike arrives.” 

“So,” Kurt says, rocking up to his toes when Blaine turns back toward him. “I guess this is goodnight?” 

Kurt just looks so cute standing there, looking at Blaine expectantly that Blaine can’t help but lean in and kiss him, soft and slow, before pulling back and blinking his eyes back open. “Sweet dreams, Kurt. I’ll see you in the morning.”


	4. Chapter 4

The next few weeks are maddening. All Blaine wants to do is spend the majority of his waking hours with Kurt -- which he is, but not at all how he wants. They’re always surrounded by the workers on Blaine’s crew, and Mike is there pointing a camera in their faces most days too. Blaine’s grateful that they’re keeping their -- whatever is happening between them -- secret, but to be so close to Kurt day in and day out and not even be able to touch him is a unique kind of torture.

They flirt, sure, and send heated looks at each other when it (hopefully) isn’t obvious. Sometimes, they manage to brush past each other when they’re working in the same space, or touch hands when they exchange tools, but the payoffs for all the buildup are few, far between, and woefully not enough.

The real problem is the aggressive schedule that Blaine had set from the start. It doesn’t allow him to take nights off or prolonged breaks. Despite Kurt’s earlier offer of a date, the best they’d been able to manage so far was _accidentally_ showing up at the same coffee shop before a day at the house. It means they get to chat for a few minutes and steal a few kisses at their cars, but it’s more of a tease than anything else.

The traditional take-the-homeowner-shopping-for-home-accessories day is simultaneously better and much, much worse. Kurt shows up impeccably styled and perfectly coiffed, like he’s dressed up for a casual date. Blaine’s so used to seeing him in jeans and t-shirts (which look amazing too, of course) that he forgets himself and obviously checks Kurt out from head to toe. He can’t bother to be embarrassed when he sees Kurt’s doing the same and seeming very appreciative of Blaine’s signature not-working-on-the-house crisp polo and bowtie look. In any case, Mike’s looking over the camera equipment, so he’s doesn’t film or notice the wink that Kurt shoots him.

“So,” Kurt says, rubbing his hands together and looking around the store with wide eyes. “What’s first? Exotic accent pieces for my master suite? One-of-a-kind fixtures for my kitchen? Antique furniture I probably can’t afford?” 

Blaine laughs and reviews the list of items he needs Kurt to look at to distract himself from wanting to kiss Kurt for being so damn cute. He’s almost glad Sugar had a massage appointment that she simply could _not_ miss, because Blaine has a feeling letting the two of them loose in a store would be chaos. “First things first, we’re going to choose a mirror for the bathroom, to replace that old, dingy one that you could barely see yourself in.” 

“Great! I’ll need a nice, big vanity to go along with it to hold all of my products,” Kurt says before taking off in the direction of everything bathroom related. 

Kurt doesn’t waste any time picking out the mirror or his fixtures, and Blaine suspects he’d done some advance research. He gently talks Kurt out of a rain shower head, because they hadn’t budgeted for the extra plumbing costs, and thankfully, Kurt doesn’t seem very upset. 

They move on to furniture. Blaine already has a good idea about the couch he’s going to order for Kurt’s living room, but he doesn’t stop Kurt from testing out a few. He sprawls comfortably against the arm of one, stretching out his long legs. “What do you think?” he asks Blaine, a mischievous twinkle in his eye.

Blaine arches an eyebrow. “Looks really good.” He pauses, making sure Kurt understands the significance of his words, then goes on: “I had something a little different in mind though.”

Kurt nods but doesn’t move from the sofa. “Well, whatever you’re getting, just make sure it’s big enough for two. I want to be able to cuddle up with someone special someday.” 

And Blaine can see it: the space between Kurt’s body and the back of the couch looks perfect for him to tuck himself into. He feels a blush rise to his cheeks and tries to speak in a brisk, businesslike tone. “I will definitely make a note of that. But come on, we’ve still got bedroom accessories to pick out.”

There are some items Kurt sees that Blaine has to scale him back and remind him of the budget, but for the most part they’re able to find pieces that Kurt loves and can afford. Shopping with Kurt but not actually _with_ Kurt is becoming a little draining, though. Blaine keeps imagining walking hand in hand down all the aisles, picking out the things they like for their own home -- which is getting _way_ ahead of himself, but he can’t help it when Kurt asks for Blaine’s opinion on almost every item. 

It’s not until Mike asks for a break to take an important phone call that Blaine can relax for a moment and not worry about being too obvious on camera. He’s just about to shuffle closer to Kurt than he’s dared all morning when Kurt grabs him by the wrist and tugs him into a back hallway that Blaine’s pretty sure is only for employees. He only manages to stutter out, “what -- why…?” before he’s silenced by Kurt pressing him up against the wall and kissing him. 

Blaine immediately wraps his arms around Kurt’s body, returning every bit of attention enthusiastically. It goes from zero to all but rutting against the wall in what feels like seconds, and Blaine barely has the presence of mind to gasp out, between kisses, “Someone’s going to catch us back here.”

“Don’t care,” Kurt mutters back, running his hands over Blaine’s arms, then his chest, then his hips. “Wanted to do this all day. Wanted to do this for _weeks_. Just look at you.” His hands creep back up to Blaine’s sides, over his polo shirt, which is admittedly very thin and perfectly fitted. “Did you wear this to drive me crazy?”

“Like you can talk,” Blaine retorts, sliding one hand down past Kurt’s waistcoat to squeeze his ass over pants that look like they were painted on. The other he uses to cup the back of Kurt’s head to draw him into another kiss, because they never have enough time for this and they shouldn’t be wasting it talking.

As if on cue, Blaine hears, distantly, a voice calling, “Blaine? ...Kurt? Where are you guys?”

Blaine groans and drops his head back against the wall. “That’s Mike. We have to go.” 

Reluctantly, Kurt presses one last kiss to Blaine’s mouth and steps back. He smooths over the front of his vest sheepishly. “I guess we don’t have a choice. Do I look presentable?” 

His cheeks are flushed and his lips a bit swollen, but otherwise, he looks remarkably unruffled. Blaine smiles at him. “You look stunning.” It makes Kurt blush a little deeper, and Blaine pushes himself away from the wall and tucks in his shirt where it’s starting to pull out. He leads Kurt back into the store and, when they’re back in Mike’s earshot, says, “Well, that’s not where the bathroom is. I guess we’ll have to ask.” 

Mike looks at them suspiciously before pointing at a nearby wall where there’s a huge _Restrooms_ sign with an arrow pointing down another hallway. “Wonder how you missed that,” he says dryly before heading back over to his equipment. 

“Okay, so he knows,” Kurt says under his breath as they follow him. “Is that going to… cause an issue?” 

Blaine shakes his head confidently even though he’s shaking a bit inside. Mike was his friend long before he agreed to work on the show, and he knows this isn’t something Blaine does -- _ever_. “No… I’ll talk to him, he’ll understand.” 

The rest of the shopping trip passes quickly, and both Blaine and Kurt are more subdued. They quickly check off the remaining items on Blaine’s list and Kurt hurries away, claiming that he has dinner plans with his father and stepmother, but he shoots Blaine a secret, apologetic smile as he goes.

Blaine helps Mike carry his camera equipment to his car, and they walk across the parking lot in a -- at least from Blaine’s perspective -- heavy silence. It’s not until all the bags are stowed away and the doors are closed that Blaine blurts out, “When did you know?”

Mike snorts. “Um, day one? Neither of you has exactly been subtle.”

“But we didn’t --” Blaine pauses and lifts one hand to scrub over the back of his neck. “Nothing happened back then.” 

Mike gives him a look.

“No, really! Okay, I was interested, but he -- wasn’t.” 

Mike’s expression doesn’t change. 

“He wasn’t! Believe me.”

Mike shrugs. “Maybe you’ll feel differently when you watch it back. Anyway, I’m glad you guys got it sorted out.”

“Thanks,” Blaine says. “Um, you’re not going to tell anyone, are you? I mean, we’re trying to keep this quiet, at least until we’re done filming, so we’d really appreciate it if you’d keep it to yourself for the time being.” 

At that, or maybe at Blaine’s pleading expression, Mike laughs. “Of course. Your secret is safe with me.”

Blaine’s shoulders slump in relief. “Thank you,” he repeats. “I just really want to keep it professional for now.”

“Definitely,” Mike says. “Plus, Cooper would never let you hear the end of it.” 

“That too,” Blaine agrees with a laugh. “All right, well -- I guess I’ll see you tomorrow.” He starts backing away. 

“See you then. Oh, hey, and Blaine?” 

“Yeah?” Blaine asks, turning fully back toward Mike. 

Mike smiles at him. “I’m happy for you. I thought you’ve seemed kind of lonely lately.”

Blaine starts to protest, but finds the he can’t, at least not honestly. Finally, he just grins back, waves, and jogs off in the direction of his own car.


	5. Chapter 5

Before Blaine knows it, the house is slowly starting to come together and the end of the renovation is almost in sight. Time with Kurt has still been limited, but they’ve been making do by continuing to work on projects together at night, once Mike (and Sugar, sometimes) have gone home. 

It’s almost time for Blaine to kick Kurt out of the house for the remainder of the renovation, so he can surprise Kurt with a few design and style choices, but they have one important step left that Kurt _insisted_ on being a part of: the delivery and installation of his bathtub. 

“Today’s the day!” Kurt exclaims, bouncing excitedly through the open front door. “I cannot _wait_ until this is all finished and I can take a long, relaxing bubble bath in my brand new soaker tub!” Of course, Kurt _wanted_ and overly-extravagant jacuzzi style bathtub, but he had quickly changed his mind to something more reasonable when he had seen the price tag.

Blaine’s been distracted with ideas of the two of them, naked in that tub, surrounded by bubbles, and two glasses of wine balancing carefully on the side ever since Kurt had picked it out. He’s pretty sure this… thing he has with Kurt is real, and will keep going after the show is over, but part of him is worried that as soon as Blaine’s finished with the house (and Cooper comes back in the picture for the reveal) that Kurt won’t be so interested anymore. 

The delivery of the tub isn’t scheduled until afternoon, so they spend the morning installing the new set of custom kitchen cabinets Blaine ordered, which keeps Blaine busy enough that he doesn’t have time to worry about the possible demise of his budding relationship with Kurt.

“It’s going to be so much fun to cook in here,” Kurt says, eyeing the pantry thoughtfully. “I’m going to have to do a _lot_ of grocery shopping.” 

Blaine almost mentions that he’d be more than happy to help with that, but he quickly remembers that Mike is standing off to the side, filming everything. “I’m sure your family is excited, too.” 

“I’ve never cooked a day in my life,” Sugar says, not looking up from the fingernail she’s filing. “Daddy’s had the same chef since I was a baby. Ooh, Kurt! Maybe she can come work for you, too! That way you won’t have to cook, either!” 

Kurt rolls his eyes, obviously used to Sugar’s antics. “Sugar, not everyone is made of money like your dad is, remember? We’ve talked about this. Besides, I _enjoy_ cooking, especially for my friends and loved ones,” he says, lips turning up into a smile when he glances at Blaine. 

Blaine has to turn away and pretend to be very focused on the level he’s using before he secures another set of cabinets so he doesn’t show the camera how pleased he is with Kurt’s comment. “I think this one’s about ready to go in,” he says, shifting the frame of the cabinet just a smidge. 

The sound of a horn honking startles them all, and Mike quickly heads out to the front with his camera. 

“This is it!” Kurt says, clapping his hands together as he follows Blaine outside. 

Blaine makes Sugar and Kurt stand back while he helps the driver unload the tub. If he does it because he knows Kurt will appreciate how his biceps flex under the weight of the crate, then well… he sees no problem with that. He barely has time to thank the driver before he’s closing up his truck and driving away. 

“Okay, let’s take a look at this beauty,” Blaine says, grabbing a crowbar from the toolbox he brought outside. He makes quick work of the nails on the lid and he can’t help but smile at Kurt, who is standing off to the side, hands clasped together and held to his chest, bouncing up onto his toes. 

Except everything goes wrong when Blaine lifts the lid. Shit. _Shit_. There’s a huge crack right down the middle of the tub. Blaine feels his face drain of all color and he quickly slams the lid shut, trying to not let his anger and disappointment show. “Oh, who needs a big soaker tub, anyway?” he asks, trying to laugh but it just comes out as a huff. 

Kurt’s face falls and he rushes over to Blaine. “What? What happened?” he asks frantically, trying to look inside the crate, but Blaine is holding the lid down. “Blaine! What’s wrong with my bathtub?” 

Blaine wants to tell Mike to stop filming, so he can gather Kurt into his arms and break the news that way, but he knows Cooper would absolutely kill him for cutting any of this out. Blaine can practically hear Cooper’s voice in his head, _drama sells, little brother_! Instead, his heart aches just seeing Kurt’s worried face. “Um, well…” 

“Just show me,” Kurt says dully, crossing his arms over his chest. 

“I’m going to contact the manufacturer right away, Kurt. We’ll get this figured out in no time,” Blaine says, wincing as he lifts the lid and reveals the broken bathtub. He has to step away when Kurt lets out a pained noise, because he’s about two seconds of saying _screw it_ and wrapping his arms around Kurt. 

Kurt runs his fingers through his hair, which shows just how distressed he is -- he’s made it a point to keep his hair as flawless as possible while he’s on camera. “I’m tapped out -- this was my one big _splurge_ and it’s… ruined! I don’t have any more money to replace it, and I can’t ask my dad for anything, he’s already helped me out enough…” 

“Kurt, let me - “ 

Kurt glares at Sugar before defeatedly closing the lid on the crate. “No, Sugar. I’ve told you… this is _my_ house. I’m not going to take any hand-outs from you.” He sighs and shakes his head. “I just need a minute,” he says and walks back into the house. 

Mike has set the camera down and he lets out a low whistle. “Won’t they just replace it for you, Blaine?” 

“I’m… not sure, I’m going to call them right now,” Blaine says, pulling his phone from his pocket. He wants to have good news before he goes into the house and finds Kurt, but a quick discussion with the manager confirms Blaine’s gut feelings. They won’t replace it, because they aren’t responsible for in-transit damage and it was a custom built bathtub. “Shit,” he says, shoulders slumping. “I… I guess I’ll go break it to him.” 

Sugar stops Blaine with a hand on his arm. “Look, I’ve been trying to get Kurt to agree to let me help with… _any_ of this, but he’s just so stubborn. Let me buy the jacuzzi tub he _really_ wanted, and we’ll surprise him? I’ll just tell him it’s an early birthday present, and he can’t argue if it’s already here and installed.” 

Blaine hesitates, because he knows how opposed to using Sugar’s money Kurt has been, but she’s right… Kurt can’t put up too much of a fuss if the jacuzzi is already in place when he finds out about it. “Sure, go ahead. That sounds great, Sugar. But what do I tell him in the meantime?” 

“Not my problem,” Sugar says pertly. “I’m paying for it; I’m sure you can come up with something.” She pulls her cell phone out of her purse and starts tapping out a text message, her long nails clacking against the screen. Blaine’s pretty sure he’s been dismissed.

He doesn’t really understand Kurt’s friendship with Sugar sometimes. She’s a walking contradiction (in four-inch heels, at a construction site): offering to do something as kind as buy Kurt the ridiculously expensive tub of his dreams, but somehow managing to be as rude as possible doing it… yet without any real malice. Kurt had mentioned that some of his closest friends from high school now lived on opposite sides of the country, so he’d ended up forming a stronger bond with Sugar when he’d come back home. It mystifies Blaine all the same.

Unfortunately, pondering Kurt’s friendship with Sugar won’t make lying to him about the bathtub any easier. Blaine shoots Mike a grim look and says, “Well, I guess we’ll have to go tell him.” There’s no way to avoid recording this; Cooper would kill him. Mike shoulders his camera, and they head inside.

They find Kurt in the kitchen, leaning on the framed out cabinets and looking out a window. Blaine can’t help but admire the strong, lean lines of his body for a moment, until Kurt hears them enter and turns, and then the frustration and sadness in his expression punches Blaine full in the gut. “Did you get a hold of them?” Kurt asks. His voice is subdued, but there’s a note of hope in it.

Blaine nods, and Kurt must be able to read the outcome of the conversation in Blaine’s face, because his own falls even further. He looks utterly dejected, and all Blaine wants to do is wrap him up in a reassuring hug, kiss his frown, and tell him that everything will be fine, that they’ll work something out. To his horror, he realizes that he’s actually lifting a hand to reach for Kurt and forces it back down against his thigh, balling his fingers into a fist. 

“I talked to the manufacturer,” he confirms, struggling to keep his voice neutral and businesslike, “and they won’t replace the tub because it was damaged in transit. I’m so sorry, Kurt.”

“What about the shipping company?” Kurt asks. “They broke it; they should pay for a new one.”

“They should,” Blaine agrees.

Kurt tenses when he hesitates to say more. “But…?”

Blaine grimaces. “But I’m not sure that they will. We’ll file a claim, which will probably take weeks to resolve, and it’s not very likely that they’ll pay the full replacement cost.” 

The words steal the last glimmer of light from Kurt’s eyes, and although he’s just the messenger, Blaine hates himself for having to say them. Even worse, he hates having to lie when he knows a truth that would alleviate all of Kurt’s disappointment. “Fuck,” Kurt mutters, and for a second, Blaine thinks he might cry. “So what do we do now?”

“I can still order a new tub,” Blaine says. “The manufacturer has agreed to rush it. I’ll help you find one that’s less expensive but still fits the space.”

Kurt snorts. “Less expensive. Just pick the cheapest one. I still won’t be able to afford it.”

Blaine angles a bit so that Mike is shooting over his shoulder and won’t get his face on camera. He gives Kurt a pleading look, trying to project everything he’s feeling through his eyes and his expression. “I’m so sorry, Kurt. I really am. We’re going to figure something out.”

The budding anger seems to melt out of Kurt, and he deflates again. “All right, bring up their website and let’s see what we can find.”

Blaine’s tablet is sitting on a table nearby, and he leads Kurt to it, managing to give his shoulder a squeeze as they duck together over the screen. Blaine glances back to see that Mike has stopped filming, but there are still members of the crew everywhere. He tightens his fingers on Kurt’s shoulder one more time, then drops his hand.


	6. Chapter 6

When it comes down to the last week and a half or so of the renovation, Blaine always kicks the homeowners out of the house until the reveal. That gives him plenty of time to work on the finishing touches and the surprise he has in store -- to save some excitement for the homeowners, especially ones like Kurt who’ve been heavily involved in the project.

Kurt had pouted when Blaine told him the time had come, but Blaine also knows that Kurt has watched their show before and isn’t a stranger to how it works. 

Blaine usually isn’t all that nervous when they get to the reveal. They’ve done enough of these shows that he’s gotten pretty good at reading his clients and how they’ll feel about what he’s done for them. But this time… it’s _Kurt_. He’s pretty confident that Kurt will love everything, especially the sanctuary Blaine has turned the master suite into (and of course, the surprise jacuzzi tub in the bathroom), but Blaine knows that Kurt is very particular. Blaine just hopes that, even in the limited time they’ve been able to spend together, he’s been able to figure out what Kurt likes and doesn’t. 

“House looks great, squirt,” Cooper says, slapping Blaine on the back. Blaine loves his brother, but there are some things about Cooper that he doesn’t really miss when they’re separated. “Looks like we’re about to have another satisfied client.” 

Blaine ignores Mike’s sudden cough and ducks away from Cooper. “I sure hope so,” Blaine says, belly twisting in knots when he sees Kurt’s car pull up. “Showtime.” 

Kurt steps out of the car, looking like a dream. Gone are the old jeans and t-shirts that Blaine has gotten so used to seeing him in over the past five weeks, he’s dressed head to toe in perfection. “Good morning!” Kurt calls out cheerfully, giving a wave before not one, but two of the other doors on the car open. 

Blaine knows Kurt had mentioned that his dad would be coming to the reveal, but Blaine hasn’t really stopped to think about what that _means_ until just now. This is Kurt’s _dad_ stepping out of the car, clearly not in designer clothes like Kurt and Sugar. Kurt’s dad who has no idea that Blaine has been sort of seeing his son in secret for the last few weeks. “I’m screwed,” he mutters to himself, thankfully far enough away from Cooper that he doesn’t hear. 

“Everyone, this is my dad, Burt Hummel,” Kurt says as he walks up the driveway with his father and Sugar in tow. “Dad, this is Mike, the amazing cameraman for the show, who only captured my good side, I’m sure. Cooper, the relator that found this place, and this…” he trails off, giving Blaine a beaming grin. “This is Blaine. He’s the one who did all the hard work to make this my dream home.” 

“Nice to meet you all. I really appreciate you having Kurt on the show,” Burt says, shaking everyone’s hand. Blaine swears when Burt gets to him, he squeezes just a little too tight. 

“It’s been our absolute pleasure,” Cooper says with a smile. “We can’t wait to see Kurt’s reaction to what Blaine’s done in there.” 

Blaine’s pleased to see that Kurt barely glances at Cooper, choosing to keep his focus on Blaine instead. “As soon as Mike gets set up in the doorway, we can get started,” Blaine says, rubbing his hands together in excitement as Mike walks away with his camera. 

Sugar snaps her gum and holds her hand up to shield her eyes from the sun. “Yes, we better get this show on the road before Kurt here vibrates right out of his skin.” 

“I’m just really excited,” Kurt says, nudging Sugar with his elbow. “I can’t wait to see, well… everything!” 

“Me too, kid,” Burt says, giving Kurt’s shoulder a squeeze. “Really happy to have you so close, too.” 

Mike waves everyone over to the front door, signalling that he’s ready. Blaine and Cooper head just inside, leaving Kurt with Burt and Sugar outside. Blaine’s stomach clenches nervously and he can already tell his palms are getting a little sweaty. He not only has to impress Kurt with what he’s done, but Burt, too. 

Cooper calls the first reaction the _money shot_ \-- the homeowner’s face when they first swing the door open. Blaine hadn’t done much to the foyer other than freshen up the paint, but it opens right up into the living room, which Blaine had freshened up with new paint on the walls and the fireplace, and decorated with some of the pieces Kurt had picked out on their shopping day. 

When Mike gives the thumbs up, Cooper smiles at the camera and swings open the door. “Welcome home, Kurt!” 

Kurt steps in, his dad and Sugar right behind him. As soon as he sees the living room, his eyes light up and his jaw drops. “Oh, my god. It’s beautiful!” 

Blaine watches Kurt take in the new sectional couch (which Sugar immediately plops down on), the antique coffee table Blaine managed to find a few weeks ago, and the abstract artwork Kurt picked out which Blaine carefully hung on the wall. “This wasn’t one of the focus rooms,” Blaine explains to Burt and the camera. “But it needed to be brought up to date and to Kurt’s standards, so a few pieces of new furniture is what did the trick.” 

“Yeah, looks like Kurt,” Burt says, scratching his head while he looks at the wall art. “Always liked things that were a little left of center.” 

“Dad,” Kurt says, fondly exasperated. “Maybe you’ll appreciate the kitchen more than my taste in art.” 

Cooper chuckles and holds out his arm in that direction. “How about we head there next? Kurt, you’re in for a treat.” 

Sugar sighs and heaves herself up off the couch. “I was just getting comfortable.” 

This time, Blaine rolls his eyes after he makes sure Mike is filming Kurt and won’t catch it. “There’s still a lot to see, Sugar. You can relax after we’ve shown Kurt the whole house.” 

Blaine and Sugar just barely make it into the kitchen to see Kurt’s reaction. Blaine smiles as he watches Kurt slowly walk around, fingers running along the new appliances and countertops. Not much in the kitchen is a surprise, since Kurt was the one to decide on everything, but the last time Kurt had seen the kitchen it was bare except for the new cabinets. 

“I have a feeling I’m going to end up repeating myself a lot, but wow, Blaine…” Kurt trails off and takes a deep breath as he looks around. “This is amazing. I seriously cannot wait to cook a meal for um… for me. And my family, of course. Thank you so much, it’s exactly what I wanted.” 

Burt whistles when he opens the refrigerator, peeking in before looking back at Kurt. “Better not let your step-mother loose in this kitchen; she’ll want to move in with you. I wish she could be here to see it, but she and her sister have had this trip planned for a year.” 

“It’s okay,” Kurt says. “I’ll have you both over for dinner as soon as she gets back.”

The rest of the walk-through of the main floor goes just as well. Sugar ends up fawning over the dining room table more than Kurt -- claiming it looks more expensive than the one in her house, but really it was another of Blaine’s bargain antique finds. Everyone _oohs_ and _ahhs_ over the first floor laundry that’s just off the kitchen, which has a second-hand (but basically brand new) washing machine and dryer -- that alone saved Kurt quite a bit of money. 

“Shall we head upstairs?” Blaine asks, trying to hide his grin from Kurt. This is what he’s most excited for. He cannot wait for Kurt to see his master suite and the surprise jacuzzi tub in the bathroom. 

Mike stops filming and gathers his gear to head upstairs. They figured out early on that filming on staircases is just awkward and sometimes dangerous. After Mike sprained his ankle during one of their first episodes, they all decided that they don’t need to capture _every_ moment of the reveal. 

“Sorry, Kurt… master bedroom last, Blaine’s orders,” Cooper says when Kurt goes to reach for his bedroom door. 

Blaine almost gives in when Kurt pouts in his direction, but he sticks to his guns. He wants the best part of the house (at least, it’s the best in Blaine’s opinion) to be the last thing Kurt sees. “There are a couple other things up here I want to show you first.” 

“He’s probably right, bud. Once you go through those doors you’re not going to care about much else,” Burt says, looking at Kurt knowingly. 

Sugar takes Kurt by the elbow and pulls him down the hallway. “Yeah, Kurt, especially after you see -- “ 

“Okay!” Blaine says loudly, stopping Sugar from spoiling the big surprise. “I think Mike’s ready again, so let’s take a look in here,” he says, leading Kurt into his brand new office. 

The office is a _huge_ hit, and even makes Kurt a little teary eyed when he sees how Blaine framed a few of his designs and hung them on the wall. Blaine knows that Kurt is talented, and he doesn’t want Kurt to give that talent up just because he’s not living in New York anymore. 

When the guest bedroom is revealed, Sugar immediately sits on the edge of the bed and bounces slightly, testing the mattress. “Not quite as soft as my bed at home, but I’m willing to stay here sometimes so you’re not lonely here all by yourself.” 

Kurt glances Blaine’s way for a brief second before pulling Sugar up off the bed. “I think I’ll manage,” Kurt says, looking out into the hallway. “This is a very beautiful room, but is it master suite time?” 

Cooper laughs and nods, leading everyone back out to the hall. “Now, Kurt… close your eyes, and we’ll tell you when it’s time to open them.” 

Blaine holds his breath after Mike gives them the go-ahead to open the door to Kurt’s bedroom. The first thing he hears is a gasp from Kurt, then a hum of approval from Burt, and then a _holy shit!_ from Sugar which they’ll have to edit out. 

Blaine knows this is some of his best work. He’s always been one for detail, but he just _really_ wanted to make Kurt happy with this room. 

“Oh, Blaine…” Kurt says softly, walking over to the dresser and running his fingers along the ledge. He looks back at Blaine, eyes shining with adoration. “This is _exactly_ what I wanted.” 

Burt claps his hand onto Blaine’s shoulder and squeezes before letting go. “Looks real nice in here. A little too nice, if you ask me. Kurt may never want to get out of bed and come to work.” 

Kurt laughs and heads over to the closet he helped frame. “I can’t skip out on work; I have a mortgage to pay now,” he says, swinging the door open, revealing a _huge_ closet by most people’s standards, which Blaine filled with plenty of shelves, drawers, and custom-built rods to accommodate clothes of all different lengths. “Wow, I didn’t realize it would be _this_ spacious when we built it! There wasn’t much space to, uh, move around.” Blaine thinks he catches a blush on Kurt’s cheeks as he says it, but Kurt just powers on: “I think this will be the first closet I’ve ever had that will hold all of my clothes and _then_ some!” 

“Hmm,” Sugar says, joining Kurt in the doorway. “Not bad,” she says as she gives a nod of approval in Blaine’s direction. “While Kurt’s wardrobe isn’t nearly as extensive as mine, he does need more space than the average guy,” she says, eyeing Burt up and down. 

Burt, obviously used to Sugar, just scoffs and points to the other door in the bedroom. “That the bathroom through there?” 

Blaine waits for Mike to move to the other side of the bedroom, near the bathroom door, before he nods in Kurt’s direction. “Last room to look at. Are you ready, Kurt?” 

There’s a slight droop in Kurt’s shoulders, but Blaine’s sure he’s the only one that noticed. He knows Kurt is expecting to open the door and see his budget-tub, which makes this reveal even more exciting. Blaine just hopes that Kurt accepts the gift willingingly without complaining to Sugar about the money or offering to pay her back. 

“I’m ready,” Kurt says, and closes his eyes while Mike gets set up just inside the door. When he opens his eyes back up, he immediately covers his mouth. “Oh, my god,” he says, muffled by his palm. He looks back at Blaine with wide, shining eyes and drops his hand. “What is this? This is _not_ the tub I had to reorder.” 

Sugar claps excitedly and rushes to Kurt to give him a hug. “Surprise! Happy early birthday!” 

“You -- I -- “ Kurt stutters out, still looking at Blaine. He wriggles out of Sugar’s grasp and rushes over to Blaine. 

Blaine’s cheeks feel warm and he shrugs nonchalantly, just barely resisting the urge to pull Kurt into his arms. “We wanted to surprise you, I’m -- _mmph_ ” He’s cut off by Kurt leaning in and kissing him, and at first Blaine doesn’t know what to _do_ but he soon forgets everything around him and lets himself melt into the kiss, wrapping his arms around Kurt’s waist. 

“Thank you,” Kurt says quietly when he finally pulls away, his gaze locking on Blaine’s. “It’s perfect. Everything is perfect.” 

Then they both freeze. 

Blaine feels his eyes getting wider and wider, and Kurt looks around, immediately stepping back when he notices that _everyone_ is staring at them... _and_ Mike is still filming. “Oh, I… uh -- “ 

“Kurt Hummel!” Sugar exclaims, swatting Kurt on the arm. “Are you _fucking_ him? I thought it was just a crush!” 

Kurt blinks rapidly, glancing back and forth between his dad and Blaine. “That was, um…” 

“I thought you said you didn’t _like_ this guy, kid,” Burt says, huffing out a laugh and crossing his arms over his chest. 

Blaine feels like a deer caught in headlights; he can’t move or say _anything_. Kurt just _kissed_ him in front of the camera, Sugar, and Cooper. In front of _Burt_. _Shit_.

“Well, I -- well,” Kurt stammers, cheeks pink as he steps back in next to Blaine. “I may not have been entirely honest about that.”

“Kinda figured,” Burt says, still laughing. “And it’s not like I didn’t already know, with how much you’ve been jabbering on about him lately.”

“And Sugar,” Kurt adds with a severe glare in her direction. “It’s not like… _that_ , as you so crudely put it. We’re -- well, we’re dating.” 

Blaine notices that Cooper has just been standing there through the whole exchange, silent with a stern look on his face. Cooper is _never_ this quiet, which makes Blaine’s belly clench with worry. “Coop?” he finally speaks up.

Cooper crosses his arms over his chest. “Blaine, aren’t you always telling me that I need to take my career more seriously?” 

“Yes,” Blaine replies slowly, his brows knitting.

“Is _this_ taking the show seriously?” Cooper asks with a challenge in his voice.

“But I… but _you_...” Blaine sputters, completely taken aback.

“And I thought this show didn’t _exist to get you laid_?” Cooper says, holding his fingers up in mock quotations. 

Blaine gapes. “We didn’t mean for it to happen -- it just did, Cooper. I…” he trails off, turning to look at Kurt. “We really like each other; this is… serious.” He’s afraid to see Kurt’s reaction to the announcement, but Kurt’s face softens and his eyes spark despite the concerned expression he’s wearing.

“Well, hot damn,” Sugar says, heels clicking on the tile floor as she goes and sits down on the edge of the jacuzzi tub, apparently unfazed by the tension in the room. “Looks like you have a nice hot boyfriend to share this tub with, Kurt.” 

There’s a moment of silence, but before long, Cooper’s face breaks into a grin and he pulls Blaine into a one-armed hug. “Gotcha, squirt! I really had you fooled, didn’t I? You really thought I was upset! That’ll teach you to make fun of my methods again.” 

Blaine knows better than to scoff or turn his nose up at Cooper’s _methods_ in front of anyone else, so he just nods and smiles. “Yep, you had me fooled. I’m just glad you’re not upset,” he says, pressing a soft kiss to Kurt’s cheek. 

“Of course not, little brother. Anyone with eyes can see how happy you two are, plus... it’ll make for good television!” Cooper says, pointing at the camera. “And with that, I think we can say _cut_!” 

Mike finally sets his camera down and smiles at Blaine. “Another satisfied client.” 

Burt snorts and leads the way out of the bathroom, shaking his head. “Leave it to my son to find a boyfriend on a TV show he signed up for.” 

Once everyone has cleared out, and it’s just Blaine and Kurt left in the bathroom, Kurt takes Blaine’s hand and rubs his thumb over Blaine’s knuckles. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to ruin the show right at the end -- I was just so overwhelmed. I mean, look at this -- “ he says, turning to look back at the jacuzzi tub (which will definitely fit both of them comfortably). “This is the _last_ thing I expected you to surprise me with.” 

“You didn’t ruin the show,” Blaine says adamantly. He lifts their joined hands and brushes his lips against the back of Kurt’s. “It will edited it so it’s _romantic_ and viewers will eat it up,” he says with a grin. “And I’m glad you love the tub -- Sugar would probably kill you if you were upset over it.” 

Kurt’s eyebrows shoot up in surprise. “Upset over it? How could I be upset over something I cannot _wait _to enjoy with you? I love this whole house -- everything you’ve done with it, Blaine. Thank you so much,” he says before leaning in for a long, slow kiss.__

__“Okay you two, stop making out and come down here for lunch!” Cooper calls from the bedroom doorway._ _

__Blaine rolls his eyes and gives Kurt one more quick kiss. “Better listen to him, or they’ll think we’re having sex in here.”_ _

__Kurt smirks and leads Blaine out of the bathroom. “There will be plenty of time for that, Blaine. I have _plans_ for that tub.” _ _

__“I heard that!” Cooper shouts._ _


	7. Chapter 7

As much Blaine wants nothing more than to spend every waking moment with Kurt after they wrap Kurt’s episode, work doesn’t just stop because you’re falling in love. (Which they are, and Blaine’s heart still thrills every time they exchange those words.) There are more renovations to do -- a family of four that needs more space, a pair of brothers looking for a bachelor pad -- and that means long hours of exhausting work for Blaine, and not nearly as much time with Kurt as he’d like. 

Blessedly, today is not one of those days. He’d just discovered that the house he’s working on has got major asbestos problems -- not that that’s good news for the homeowners -- and he’s put a stop to all work until a specialist can evaluate it and figure out what needs to be done. Blaine is only too happy to take the evening off and spend it with Kurt, who’s settled into his house quite nicely and still jumps at the chance to use his new kitchen. 

After stopping home to clean up, Blaine heads to Kurt’s, where he’s greeted with an onslaught of enthusiastic kisses, some sinfully rich pasta, and a slice of cheesecake that Kurt had made a few days before. They tidy up the kitchen together, and then Kurt leans back against the counter and pins Blaine with a playful look. “Well, well, well. What should we do now?” he asks, his voice almost a drawl.

Blaine plays innocent, cocking his head like he’s considering the question. “Watch a movie?”

Kurt shakes his head. “I was thinking more along the lines of… find someplace new in the house to christen?”

With a chuckle, Blaine says, “Kurt, I’m pretty sure we’ve christened every surface here by now. Most of them twice.”

“Hmmm,” Kurt hums, sauntering towards Blaine and crowding him up against the refrigerator. “Then I guess we might as well just go up to bed. I’ve been thinking about you all day,” he breathes into Blaine’s ear. “Working on that house, working up a sweat.” Blaine releases a shuddery breath and lets himself be kissed. “Show me how strong you are,” Kurt adds, and presses his lips to Blaine’s again.

Feeling Kurt’s body pressed up against his, hearing Kurt talk like _that_ \-- it’s making Blaine feel a little lightheaded with arousal. “Upstairs, you say?” he asks, squatting down slightly so he can get his hands around Kurt’s thighs. “Your wish is my command,” he says, lifting Kurt up and laughing when Kurt squeals and wraps his legs around Blaine’s waist. 

“Blaine! Put me down!” Kurt says through his laughter, but he quickly gives in and wraps his arms around Blaine’s shoulders.

“You wanted me to show you how strong I am,” Blaine says, easily carrying Kurt over to the staircase. He shifts Kurt’s weight in his arms before he starts up the stairs, only slightly straining as he navigates each step. “And who am I to deny you when you ask to go to bed?” 

Kurt holds on tight until Blaine brings them into the bedroom, only letting go once Blaine stops just inside the door. “That was so hot, fuck. You didn’t even struggle on the stairs.” 

Blaine laughs. “That’s what you get when your boyfriend does manual labor.” 

“Well, believe me, I’m very appreciative,” Kurt says, running his hands up and down Blaine’s arms and pulling him in close. “Both of that and my boyfriend’s eye for design. Let’s go admire the bedroom he designed for me again.” He kisses Blaine again and twists free, grabbing Blaine’s hand to tow him along.

Following, Blaine keeps grinning. It’s hard not to when Kurt is like this: playful, horny. He drags Blaine all the way to the bed, then spins to seal their mouths together again, much more heated now, with definite intent. Which only becomes more clear when he tumbles back onto the mattress, dragging Blaine down with him.

“Mmm, I wish I’d discover asbestos in houses more often if it means I get to do this,” Blaine says, kissing along Kurt’s jaw down to his neck. “You feel so good,” he says, shifting his hips slightly, feeling Kurt’s budding erection against his thigh. 

“You do too,” Kurt says, gasping when Blaine’s mouth reaches the sensitive spot just under his ear. He runs his hands down Blaine’s back, clumsily tugging Blaine’s t-shirt out of his pants. 

As Kurt continues grappling with Blaine’s clothing, Blaine skims his mouth back up to meet Kurt’s and kisses him, trying to drag it out, to slow him down. “Kurt,” he mumbles, “we have time. Let’s use it.” 

He can practically feel Kurt pouting, but Kurt’s hands do go still, flat against the exposed skin of Blaine’s lower back. “But I want you,” Kurt whines, and then continues, stilted collections of words spilling out between the presses of their lips. “I _have_ been thinking about you all day. About this. And we haven’t had the chance to be together since last week.”

Blaine groans and lifts his head to look at Kurt’s face. “What do you want? What were you thinking about?”

Kurt blinks hazily up at him, and Blaine realizes that he wasn’t quite aware of just how turned on Kurt already is. His cheeks are flushed with blood, there’s a fine tremor in his body, and his erection is as hard as it’s ever been, snugged up against Blaine’s body. “I want you to fuck me,” Kurt breathes.

Blaine’s cock surges with approval, and he can’t resist grinding his hips down once against Kurt’s. “It would be my pleasure,” he says, dropping one last hungry kiss on Kurt’s mouth before he sits up.

“Wait, what are you doing?” Kurt asks, reaching for him.

“I think we need to do something about this first,” Blaine explains. He cups Kurt’s dick through his pants and then sets to work unbuttoning Kurt’s vest and shirt. “And after that, I’m going to fuck you, and I’m going to take my time doing it.” 

Kurt’s body shudders, even more so when Blaine dips down to kiss the skin he’s exposed on Kurt’s chest. He feels Kurt’s hand come down on the back of his skull, hears Kurt’s voice: “ _Please_.”

Blaine smiles against Kurt’s skin, and continues kissing along the path he’s revealing. “God, you’re beautiful,” he says, finally finished with the buttons on Kurt’s shirt. He smirks when he drags his lips and tongue just above the waistline of Kurt’s pants and Kurt’s hand clenches in his hair. “I know, baby. I’m getting there.” 

“Blaine,” Kurt gasps, hips lifting off the bed just far enough to nudge Blaine’s chin with his dick. “Need your mouth on me.” 

Blaine’s mouth floods with saliva as he slowly undoes Kurt’s button and slides the zipper underneath down, revealing blue boxer-briefs, already damp with precome. He doesn’t waste any time pulling Kurt’s pants off, along with his underwear -- he can tell Kurt won’t last long from the little whimpers he’s making and how he can’t keep his hips still. 

Even so, Blaine doesn’t take Kurt deep. He enjoys sucking cock too much, loves sucking Kurt’s, and he wants to make it as much of an experience as he can. He skims his lips up Kurt’s length, nuzzling and licking here and there, and Kurt’s body is squirming against the mattress after only a few passes. 

“Blaine,” he grits out. “Honey. If you keep that up, I’m going to do something… awful and embarrassing… like come in your eye.”

“You can come on my face if you want,” Blaine says, continuing to tease over Kurt’s erection. 

Kurt _whines_ in response. “Blaine, just do it, _please_.”

Blaine slides back up Kurt’s dick, opens his mouth, and when the head of Kurt’s cock passes through his lips, Blaine’s rewarded with a splash of precome on his tongue. He moans around Kurt’s cock, eyes slipping closed as he sinks down further. 

“ _Yes_ ,” Kurt cries out, gently guiding Blaine’s movements. “Oh god,” he gasps when the head of his cock bumps the roof of Blaine’s mouth. “This -- “ he says, fingers flexing in Blaine’s hair, “this is not going to last -- _oh_ very long.” 

Blaine just grunts in response and lets Kurt set the rhythm with his hand. He inhales deeply through his nose when Kurt pushes a little _too_ far, his cock nudging the back of Blaine’s throat, but Blaine can take it -- and Kurt knows it. 

“Blaine,” Kurt whines, legs twitching restlessly against the bed. He thrusts his hips up as Blaine sucks harder, his fingers tightening against Blaine’s scalp. Kurt’s body is taut and straining, and his grip keeps Blaine’s head right where he needs it while he rocks roughly into Blaine’s mouth. Blaine massages the underside of Kurt’s length with his tongue, feeling Kurt’s muscles coil beneath him, and then Kurt lets out a sharp, relieved noise and Blaine tastes come. 

Blaine swallows eagerly, still slowly bobbing his head up and down on Kurt’s cock, coaxing him through his orgasm. He loves the aftershocks, the weak little jolts of come that accompany Kurt’s moans until he becomes too sensitive. 

Letting Kurt slip out of his mouth, Blaine rubs his hands over Kurt’s thighs while he gulps in a few lungfuls of air. Kurt stays sprawled prone against the mattress. “Blaine,” his voice drifts down, thin between still-labored breaths. “I know I’ve said this before, but… you are _so_ good at that.”

“Love making it good for you,” Blaine mumbles, moving to brace himself over Kurt’s body and lowering his head to mouth gently across Kurt’s belly, mindful to avoid his spent cock. He works his way up Kurt’s torso at a lazy pace, content to entertain himself and ignore his own need while Kurt recovers. 

He’s tonguing over one of Kurt’s nipples when Kurt hums and places his hand back on Blaine’s head, petting now instead of grabbing. Blaine lifts up just far and just long enough to ask, “Feeling better?”

“I feel _wonderful_ ,” Kurt says, his voice more strident now. 

Blaine takes it as a sign that he can ramp up his efforts, and he sucks briefly at the nub of flesh before mouthing back down over Kurt’s sternum.

Kurt’s hand tightens in his hair. “Blaine, I’m not quite --” 

But Blaine shushes him. “Don’t worry,” he murmurs, pressing the words into Kurt’s skin. “I’ve got you.” 

He makes his way down to Kurt’s thighs, angling them and kissing and nipping the pale, sensitive skin on the inside of each one. Then he hooks his hands under Kurt’s knees and slowly, gently pushes up. 

Kurt catches on quickly, reaching down to pull his legs upward and out, curling up on his back and spreading himself. He’s obscenely flexible, and the position is flagrant, bearing his hole. Blaine helps balance and steady him, freeing one of Kurt’s hands to hold his balls out of the way. Kurt groans Blaine’s name, and Blaine swears he sees Kurt’s cock giving twitches of interest. 

Blaine smiles and lowers his mouth to Kurt’s hole.

He had promised to take his time, and he does, working with a slow tongue and plush lips over Kurt’s entrance. He listens to the way Kurt’s breath rasps against his throat, his quiet moans, and puts more pressure into his ministrations, feeling the ring of muscle begin to slacken. 

“ _Fuck_ ,” Kurt gasps when Blaine spreads his ass cheeks further taut with his thumbs, Blaine’s tongue dipping inside his hole. He shifts and presses his ass against Blaine’s face, his hips jerking slightly every time Blaine’s tongue slides inside. 

When Blaine notices that he’s rutting against the bed, probably ruining the blanket with his own precome, he stills his hips and spears Kurt’s hole a few more times before pulling back and kissing back up his perineum. 

Kurt whines and tilts his hips up. “No, don’t stop.” 

Blaine chuckles and gives a little suck to Kurt’s balls before crawling back up Kurt’s body. “I thought you wanted me to fuck you?” 

Kurt lowers his legs and groans as he pulls Blaine down for a quick, dirty kiss, clearly not caring where Blaine’s mouth had just been. “ _Please_. I’m ready -- want you so bad.” 

“Me too,” Blaine groans as his cock drags against Kurt’s. He reaches over to the nightstand and fumbles inside the drawer for the lube. When his fingers wrap around the bottle he lets out a quiet _ah-hah!_ and shifts back over on top of Kurt. “Let me just get you ready, sweetheart.” 

Kurt’s face softens at the nickname and he reaches up to brush his fingers along Blaine’s jawline. “Love you.” 

Blaine’s heart warms in his chest. He squeezes out some lube, tosses the bottle aside, and leans down. “I love you too,” he murmurs, and inch from Kurt’s lips, “so much.” Then he kisses Kurt again, sliding his slippery fingers between Kurt’s ass cheeks at the same time to find his hole.

He’s able to work one in easily, since he’d already loosened Kurt so much with his lips and tongue. Kurt hums happily into Blaine’s mouth and moves his hips in counterpoint to the rhythm of Blaine’s hand. “More,” he groans. 

Blaine complies, drawing his finger back to press Kurt wider with two, then three. With each new addition, he lingers a little, massaging over Kurt’s prostate, pumping in and out, spreading him open. Kurt seems lost to it now, with the edge gone; he stops asking Blaine to speed up, and instead just rolls his hips to ride movement of Blaine’s hand. His cock is flushed full and hard again.

The edge, however, is still very much present for Blaine, and the throbbing in his own dick is getting more and more difficult to ignore. If he wants to draw it out at all for Kurt once he’s inside Kurt’s body, he knows it’s time for him to actually _be_ inside Kurt’s body. He pulls his hand away. 

Kurt blinks his eyes open and smiles. “Fuck me, honey,” he says. “Now. Please.” 

Blaine grabs for the lube again, moaning when he quickly slicks up his cock. He has to tightly grip around the base to try and calm himself down before he settles between Kurt’s legs and leans in for a sweet kiss as he starts to push inside. “ _Oh_ ,” he grunts, squeezing his eyes closed at the tightness of the first ring of muscle around his cock. 

“Blaine,” Kurt gasps, high and breathy. He wraps his arms around Blaine’s shoulders and holds him close as Blaine slowly presses further in. 

The warm, tight grip around Blaine’s cock is almost too much, but he takes a deep breath once his hips meet Kurt’s. “You feel so good,” he says, panting as he mouths over Kurt’s sweaty neck. 

“God, you always feel so big,” Kurt says, moaning as he tilts his body up to meet Blaine’s. “Okay -- yeah, you can move. _Please_ move.” 

Blaine chuckles against Kurt’s throat and starts to slowly pull back before pushing back in, letting Kurt get used to the stretch. He’s no longer right on the verge of coming, but he has a feeling that, as much as he’d wanted to draw this out, it’s not going to last anywhere near as long as he’d planned.

He manages several long, slow strokes that make Kurt groan, but he’s slipping into a firm, steady rhythm without even intending to, and Kurt is wound all around him, rocking with him, clutching him tight everywhere, and it’s so sexy and so heady and so blisteringly hot. So amazing, still, to be here with him when Blaine had been so sure it would be nothing more than an unrequited crush on a good-looking client.

“Blaine,” Kurt pants into his ear. “Let go. Let go, sweetheart.” He reaches down to dig his blunt nails into the flesh of Blaine’s ass, urging him on. 

“Want to make it good for you,” Blaine grunts, even as he snaps his hips forward harder at the touch.

Kurt lets out what sounds almost like a breathy laugh as Blaine plunges in again. “You already did. This has been _so_ good. Now I want you to let go. And just fuck me. And come.”

Blaine kisses him, sloppily and gratefully, but pulls back to readjust their bodies only a few seconds later, changing the angles for better leverage. After that, he does exactly what Kurt had asked: he fucks into Kurt’s body, deep driving thrusts that push Kurt toward the headboard, then start to stutter out into quick, jerky strokes as Blaine gets closer to his own release. His balls are drawing up tight, and Kurt is clawing at him and all but chanting, “yes, yes, like that, _yes_ ,” and Blaine can’t hold out any longer, doesn’t try. He grinds his dick in deep and comes, shuddering, emptying himself inside Kurt with a hoarse cry. Just before he surrenders to it completely, Blaine sees that Kurt is using one hand to strip quickly over his own cock, and he follows, spilling pulses of come onto his stomach.

Feeling himself beginning to slump down, Blaine heaves over to lie beside Kurt, instead of crushing Kurt with his post-orgasm dead weight. His softening cock slips out of Kurt’s ass as they move, and Kurt gathers him close, petting back through Blaine’s sweaty hair with his fingers. Kurt lets out a small chuckle and says, “I will plant asbestos in those houses myself if it means we get to do that more often. We never have time for this. We barely have time to see each other at all some weeks.”

“Good plan,” Blaine mumbles. “Just make sure you’re wearing the right protective equipment.”

Kurt snorts. “That is such a contractor Blaine thing to say.”

“That is a such a _my brain is broken and I barely know what I’m saying_ thing to say,” Blaine counters, and Kurt squeezes him and presses soft lips to his temple.

They lapse into an easy silence. At least it seems that way at first, but Blaine starts to get the sense that Kurt is thinking about something pretty heavily. He doesn’t quite seem relaxed, and his fingers brushing over Blaine’s scalp are distracted. Still, when Blaine lifts his head to kiss Kurt, slow and thorough, Kurt looks happy. 

Blaine feels drowsy, though, and he lets their lips part with a soft _smack_ so he can snuggle back into Kurt’s chest. “Mmmm,” he hums, “I love this bed. This is the most comfortable bed in the world.” 

“I’m glad you like it; you did pick it out,” Kurt quips. He’s quiet for a minute, then he adds, sounding more serious, “What if you slept it more often?” Blaine can feel Kurt’s heart beating faster under his cheek.

“I’m all for more sleepovers,” he mumbles.

“What if you slept in it… every night?” Kurt asks.

Blaine blinks against Kurt’s skin, suddenly feeling a lot more awake. “That would be a lot of sleepovers.”

“Or…” Kurt says, and Blaine raises his head to meet Kurt’s eyes. 

“Kurt,” he breathes, “what are you saying?”

Kurt’s eyes look a little wet, and in them, Blaine can see swirling emotions: excitement, fear, joy. “I want you to move in. I mean, do you want to move in? I know it’s only been a few months,” he rushes on, “and maybe that’s too soon, but Blaine, I’ve never felt like this about anyone before. Oh god, maybe I shouldn’t say that. I just -- I love you, and the show keeps you so busy sometimes, so this way, we’d at least be able to see each other every morning and every night, if nothing else. I want to be around you all the time. And you don’t _really_ like living with Cooper, do you? I just think --”

Laughing, Blaine interrupts him with a kiss. “Kurt,” he mutters against Kurt’s lips. “Kurt.”

“Yeah?” Kurt asks as Blaine draws back.

“I would love to move in with you,” he announces, beaming. 

Kurt grins back, and then he drags Blaine back down, kissing him hard and rolling partially on top of him, easing back only to say again, “I love you.”

“I love you,” Blaine replies. The he laughs. “And I kind of hate living with Cooper, but don’t you dare tell him I said that. I can’t wait to live with you instead.” 

“Me neither,” Kurt says, and he seals their mouths together once more. 

When he breaks away to smile at Blaine again, Blaine wiggles underneath him and teases, “However shall we celebrate?”

Kurt cocks an eyebrow. “Oh, I have an idea.”

“Oh yeah?” Blaine asks, unable to help being surprised that Kurt wants to go again, and so soon. Not that he’s going to complain.

“I do,” Kurt confirms, and then he’s pulling away, sitting up, even as Blaine reaches for him with noises of protest. “But first, we need to clean up a little.” He winces as he shifts his hips. “I definitely need to clean up a little.” He slides naked out of bed and starts moving toward the bathroom. “Wanna help?”

*

They _do_ fool around in the bathroom, though not with much intent at first. It’s hard not to when part of _cleaning up_ involves both of them gently fingering Blaine’s come out of Kurt’s ass in the (spacious, well-appointed) shower. Kurt tries to insist that he’s not even sure he _can_ come again so soon, even though he’s clearly enjoying it, but he does spill weakly over Blaine’s fist a few minutes later. He manages to sit his shaking legs down on the tiled bench before blowing Blaine with determined precision. _Then_ they finally get clean.

Afterward, Kurt leads Blaine back to the living room, starts the fireplace, and pulls him down onto the couch -- which is definitely big enough for cuddling, per Kurt’s request. Clean, fresh, and tired, they get comfortable while Kurt fiddles with the television remote. “I can’t believe you haven’t watched this yet,” Kurt admonishes, bringing up the DVR menu. “It was on weeks ago.”

Blaine shrugs. “I’ve been busy,” he says, but that’s not the real reason. Truthfully, he’s been hesitant to watch the episode of the show where he renovates Kurt’s house, even though it’s their most popular ever and had gifted everyone involved with fifteen minutes of low-level fame. Blaine isn’t sure exactly what he’s afraid of -- maybe he doesn’t want to watch Kurt fawning over Cooper, maybe he’s afraid of looking ridiculous fawning over Kurt, maybe it’s something else. He doesn’t know, but it seems a bit silly now, wrapped up with Kurt under a blanket in the house that’s going to become _theirs_ , so he doesn’t protest when Kurt presses play.

The episode starts, as usual, with an introduction of Kurt and his situation, peppered with snippets of interviews with Kurt, Blaine, and Cooper. “You look great on camera,” Blaine whispers, leaning up to kiss Kurt’s cheek.

“So do you,” Kurt says, catching Blaine’s jaw and holding him there for a sweet press of lips. They turn back to the television.

And then, Blaine’s watching those horrible days when they were touring homes and it’s right there on the screen: Kurt looking at Cooper like he hung the moon, while Cooper points out features of each house dramatically. Blaine fights the urge to squirm with discomfort. He knows it would be better to just stay quiet, but the words claw their way into his throat and he can’t help himself from saying them. “So, um… you seemed pretty interested in Coop when we first started filming.”

Kurt lets out a self-deprecating little noise. “Yeah, I was.”

“Oh,” Blaine says. 

He tries to speak casually, but Kurt must be able to sense something in his tone, because he shifts so they can see each other’s faces. “That bothers you,” he observes.

Blaine twitches one shoulder. “I’ve just… I’ve played second fiddle to Cooper for my entire life. And I can be honest about it now -- I thought you were gorgeous, ever since I first saw your application picture. Then to show up and have you be so into him…” He lets his voice trail away and shrugs again. 

“Well, it didn’t last very long, did it?” Kurt asks. “Especially not after I got to know him better and started spending time with you.”

“I know,” Blaine says. “And I know it shouldn’t matter anymore. It just… stung.”

Kurt kisses his forehead. “Well, I certainly didn’t mean to make you feel bad, but I’m sorry that I did.”

Blaine gives him a small smile. He feels a lot better, but he has to ask. He _has_ to. “And you don’t -- have feelings for him anymore?”

“Of course not!” Kurt says. “I love _you_. And in a way, Cooper brought us together.”

“I guess the show was his idea.”

Kurt shakes his head. “That’s not what I mean. Do you remember Cooper’s free-credit-rating-today dot com slash savings ad?”

Blaine can’t help rolling his eyes. “How could I possibly forget? It was all I heard about for two years.”

“Well, back in high school, I had a _huge_ crush on him. I even made the jingle my ringtone,” Kurt admits, looking sheepish.

With a groan, Blaine buries his face in Kurt’s chest. “This isn’t helping.”

“No, listen!” Kurt urges. “I would never have even known about your show if not for that misguided crush. One of my roommates was teasing me about it, and I thought to myself _I wonder what ever happened to that guy?_ So I did some googling, found your show, and watched every episode I could get my hands on.”

Blaine lets out a muffled hum.

“I thought his brother was cute too,” Kurt adds teasingly, rubbing a hand over Blaine’s back.

“Yeah?” Blaine asks, daring to peek out. 

“Yeah,” Kurt says. “But sometimes it’s hard to shake those childhood crushes, so yes, I was a little starstruck meeting Cooper. He’s a good-looking guy. And so are you, and you are sweet and kind and the person I love, who makes me so happy, who want to live with.”

Blaine’s smile is a little watery now. “Okay, I believe you.”

“Good,” Kurt says. They share one more kiss and settle back in.

It’s fun watching the episode after that. What Mike had said proves true: neither of them had been very good at hiding their attraction or flirtation, even though Blaine had been a bit oblivious at first. Artie -- a friend of Blaine’s who edits the episodes -- had definitely played up that angle as part of the storyline of the show. 

“And you’re worried that I don’t think you’re hot?” Kurt teases as they watch him, on screen, staring admiringly while Blaine rips the door off one of the kitchen cabinets. 

Blaine laughs and says, “I can see now that you weren’t very subtle. I don’t know how I missed it.”

“I’m very sneaky. But oh, I loved watching you work. Your arms. Your back. Your _ass_.” Kurt grabs it under the blanket and they dissolve into giggles and kisses.

The house looks stunning during the reveal, and Blaine revels in Kurt’s genuine joy as he takes in his home for the first time. He finds himself waiting, too, almost breathlessly for what he knows is coming. Kurt squeezes Blaine tight when his on-screen self plants one on Blaine’s lips, and they both crack up at Blaine’s gobsmacked expression. The episode ends not long after, with a title card stating that Blaine and Kurt are still together, and very happy.

Kurt turns the television off and gathers Blaine in. “So, what did you think?”

“I think not many couples get to see the start of their relationships play out on television. It was kind of fun to watch,” Blaine admits.

“It was,” Kurt says. The room is dim in the firelight, but Blaine sees one corner of his mouth turn up. 

Blaine reaches up to sweep Kurt’s hair back away from his forehead. “You really liked the house, didn’t you?”

“Why would you even have to ask?” Kurt’s voice is clearly surprised. “I _loved_ this house. I still do. It’s beautiful. I just hope you like it -- after all, you designed it for me, and now you’ll be living here too.”

“Kurt, this was one of my favorite houses,” Blaine says honestly. “I’m going to love living in it.”

“You know,” Kurt muses, “I think subconsciously, I was already planning to have you here, even back then.”

“Oh, really?” Blaine asks, cocking his head and shooting Kurt a disbelieving look.

Kurt laughs. “Really! Remember how I kept asking your opinion on practically everything I picked out?” He waits for Blaine’s nod. “Well, I assure you that I can make design decisions on my own. I think maybe I wanted to make sure you liked it all too.”

“That is --” Blaine starts, looking at Kurt fondly “-- such a line, Kurt.” His protests are smothered under Blaine’s playful kiss. “But whether it’s true or not, it was an honor helping you design your home.”

“Our home, Blaine,” Kurt says. “Our home.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reblog on [tumblr](http://controlofwhatido.tumblr.com/post/141668221720/fic-make-this-place-your-home-klaine-nc-17)!


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